Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A.

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Crimes & Criminals, Penology, Sociology, Urban, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A. by Danielle Allen, Liveright
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Danielle Allen ISBN: 9781631493126
Publisher: Liveright Publication: September 5, 2017
Imprint: Liveright Language: English
Author: Danielle Allen
ISBN: 9781631493126
Publisher: Liveright
Publication: September 5, 2017
Imprint: Liveright
Language: English

So tender yet courageous is this fierce family memoir that it makes mass incarceration nothing less than a new American tragedy.

In a shattering work that shifts between a woman’s private anguish over the loss of her beloved baby cousin and a scholar’s fierce critique of the American prison system, Danielle Allen seeks answers to what, for many years, felt unanswerable. Why? Why did her cousin, a precocious young man who dreamed of being a firefighter and a writer, end up dead? Why did he languish in prison? And why, at the age of fifteen, was he in an alley in South Central Los Angeles, holding a gun while trying to steal someone’s car?

Cuz means both “cousin” and “because.” In this searing memoir, Allen unfurls a "new American story" about a world tragically transformed by the sudden availability of narcotics and the rise of street gangs—a collision, followed by a reactionary War on Drugs, that would devastate not only South Central L.A. but virtually every urban center in the nation. At thirteen, sensitive, talkative Michael Allen was suddenly tossed into this cauldron, a violent world where he would be tried at fifteen as an adult for an attempted carjacking, and where he would be sent, along with an entire generation, cascading into the spiral of the Los Angeles prison system.

Throughout her cousin Michael’s eleven years in prison, Danielle Allen—who became a dean at the University of Chicago at the age of thirty-two—remained psychically bonded to her self-appointed charge, visiting Michael in prison and corresponding with him regularly. When she finally welcomed her baby cousin home, she adopted the role of "cousin on duty," devotedly supporting Michael’s fresh start while juggling the demands of her own academic career.

As Cuz heartbreakingly reveals, even Allen’s devotion, as unwavering as it was, could not save Michael from the brutal realities encountered by newly released young men navigating the streets of South Central. The corrosive entanglements of gang warfare, combined with a star-crossed love for a gorgeous woman driving a gold Mercedes, would ultimately be Michael’s undoing.

In this Ellisonian story of a young African American man’s coming-of-age in late twentieth-century America, and of the family who will always love Michael, we learn how we lost an entire generation.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

So tender yet courageous is this fierce family memoir that it makes mass incarceration nothing less than a new American tragedy.

In a shattering work that shifts between a woman’s private anguish over the loss of her beloved baby cousin and a scholar’s fierce critique of the American prison system, Danielle Allen seeks answers to what, for many years, felt unanswerable. Why? Why did her cousin, a precocious young man who dreamed of being a firefighter and a writer, end up dead? Why did he languish in prison? And why, at the age of fifteen, was he in an alley in South Central Los Angeles, holding a gun while trying to steal someone’s car?

Cuz means both “cousin” and “because.” In this searing memoir, Allen unfurls a "new American story" about a world tragically transformed by the sudden availability of narcotics and the rise of street gangs—a collision, followed by a reactionary War on Drugs, that would devastate not only South Central L.A. but virtually every urban center in the nation. At thirteen, sensitive, talkative Michael Allen was suddenly tossed into this cauldron, a violent world where he would be tried at fifteen as an adult for an attempted carjacking, and where he would be sent, along with an entire generation, cascading into the spiral of the Los Angeles prison system.

Throughout her cousin Michael’s eleven years in prison, Danielle Allen—who became a dean at the University of Chicago at the age of thirty-two—remained psychically bonded to her self-appointed charge, visiting Michael in prison and corresponding with him regularly. When she finally welcomed her baby cousin home, she adopted the role of "cousin on duty," devotedly supporting Michael’s fresh start while juggling the demands of her own academic career.

As Cuz heartbreakingly reveals, even Allen’s devotion, as unwavering as it was, could not save Michael from the brutal realities encountered by newly released young men navigating the streets of South Central. The corrosive entanglements of gang warfare, combined with a star-crossed love for a gorgeous woman driving a gold Mercedes, would ultimately be Michael’s undoing.

In this Ellisonian story of a young African American man’s coming-of-age in late twentieth-century America, and of the family who will always love Michael, we learn how we lost an entire generation.

More books from Liveright

Cover of the book Hist Whist: And Other Poems for Children by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures, and Innovations by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Mary Astor's Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936 by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book The Last Picture Show by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book One Toss of the Dice: The Incredible Story of How a Poem Made Us Modern by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton, An Autobiography by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book The Morning They Came For Us: Dispatches from Syria by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Chaplin & Company: A Novel by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Starting Over: Stories by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book The Conquest of Happiness by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book The Last Cowboy: A Life of Tom Landry by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life by Danielle Allen
Cover of the book Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time by Danielle Allen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy