The Scarred Heart : Understanding and Identifying Kids Who Kill (Paperback)

by Dr. Helen Smith (Author), Callisto Publishing (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
This is a must-read book for parents, school personnel, clinicians, and all concerned citizens. -- Dr. Sandra Thomas

Product Description
Violent kids: they're everywhere, or so we're told. The evening news is full of blood curdling stories of youth violence. Schools are trying all sorts of approaches in the hopes of preventing yet another massacre. Adults have done a lot of talking about juvenile violence, but few of them have spent any time talking to the kids themselves. Dr. Helen Smith has. This book is based on her experience interviewing violent children and teenagers in a variety of settings, from the gang-infested slums of New York City to the schools of rural East Tennessee. It also reflects the findings of her massive national survey of violent and nonviolent youths aged 10-19--the first of its kind in history. From her experience, and their voices, come suggestions for healing the scarred hearts that lead to juvenile violence.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Callisto Publishing (June 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615112234
• ISBN-13: 978-0615112237
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,357,725 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't pay $100 for a used copy!, January 7, 2004

By	"popshopper" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

The author, upon seeing the high prices for used copies, has
seen fit to to "put the book (which is out of print, and which
won't see a new edition anytime soon because she's working on
another project) up for free download in PDF form on her website."
(quoting her InstaPundit hubby).

GoTo: http://violentkids.com/scarred_heart.html

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parents and Professionals: You Need to Read This Book!, September 22, 2000

By A Customer

Dr. Smith cuts through the usual psychobabble in her accounts of troubled young people, accounts which are compelling and blood-curdling at the same time. Her first-person soliloquies of youthful killers have the ring of authenticity, and her no-nonsense approach to identifying and helping the potentially violent child obviously come from her rich experience. Any parent or professional working with young people will profit from reading this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An remarkably reassuring book, April 30, 2002

By	"june2222" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

For all the brutal reality of the deeds and people Dr. Smith describes, this is a refreshing antidote to the apocalyptic hysteria that usually dominates the discussion of violent kids. She helps us see that these are people, caught in obsessive emotions or skewed perceptions, who are often doing the best they can to make sense of their world. Dr. Smith gives us much concrete reason to believe that we'll be able to reach many of those kids before it's too late, and that we'll be able to make changes in our society that will make these painful outcomes less likely in the future.