Becoming Ms. Burton By Susan Burton and Cari Lynn

I highly recommend Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn. Few books manage such a compelling call for social justice. More impressive, the subject of her sympathy – women stuck in the revolving door of the American industrial prison complex – are rarely featured sympathetically. However, Ms. Burton’s criminal past, like those of so many others, was deeply rooted in the circumstances of her birth – poverty, both of funds and familial guidance.

Like the best books, the narrative is designed to expose the reality of a time and place one may not otherwise encounter. In this case, the setting is South Central Los Angeles as the area went from a symbol of suburban self-determination for middle-class African Americans to one denoting violence and disfunction. In this context of extreme deprivation, Ms. Burton reveals the disappointments inherent in being a child forced to grow up raw to abuse, lacking a complete education, and largely devoid of people offering hopeful alternatives.

Ms. Burton’s delivery, supported by journalist Cari Lynn, accomplishes the difficult task of outlined a life so challenging without excessive anger, blame, or pity. Given the facts, this is no small task. The details are frequently unpleasant, even painful, to read. When, at 15, after the birth of her daughter, conceived as a result of a gang rape Ms. Burton writes, “The baby shifted the family dynamic tremendously. My mother, my brothers, they all got a second chance with my child. The baby was a blank slate, the girl my family could do better with, and I watched as the baby changed them into people I didn’t recognize: they were kind, gentle, and protective of her. For my baby’s sake, this was the best I could hope for. As for me, if I wasn’t cooking their meals or washing their dishes, I had no use. I was, at best, the Cinderella of the house. And now they treated me like I was tainted, like a Cinderella who’d been around the block.”

Alone, the story of her childhood would be impossible to read and enjoy. It is Ms. Burton’s slow and steady march to professional and financial independence which shifts the tale to one of optimism. Importantly, she achieves her self-respect because, not in spite, of her determination to give back to her community.

Using pluck and luck, Ms. Burton’s efforts resulted in the formation of the aptly named nonprofit A New Way of Life . Recognizing that few people are capable of meaningful transformation without a safe place to live and social support to navigate post-prison bureaucracy, she opened a sober living house for newly released women. The process was daunting. When her first wealthy donor offers to help and she musters up the gumption to ask for a van instead of more toilet paper you want to cheer.

Mrs. Burton’s plea for compassion is remarkable. Equally impressively is her perseverance in face of gross human indecency. Ultimately though, this is a redemption story of the highest order, suitable for…everyone. We should all want to be inspired to try a little harder, complain a little less and give a little more of ourselves to others. Few survive the burdens of Ms. Burton’s past. That she learned to live in gratitude and humility should moot the rest of our excuses not to do so as well.

 

 

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