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This new, revised edition incorporates significant advances in neurobiological research and includes a new introduction by Dr. Vincent J. Felitti, a leading researcher in the field. When Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence was first published, it was lauded for providing scientific evidence that violence can originate in the womb and become entrenched in a child’s brain by preschool. The authors’ groundbreaking conclusions became even more relevant following the wave of school shootings across the nation including the tragedies at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and shocking subsequent shootings.
Following each of these, media coverage and public debate turned yet again to the usual suspects concerning the causes of violence: widespread availability of guns and lack of mental health services for late-stage treatment. Discussion of the impact of trauma on human life—especially early in life during chemical and structural formation of the brain—is missing from the equation. Karr-Morse and Wiley continue to shift the conversation among parents and policy makers toward more fundamental preventative measures against violence.
“Karr-Morse and Wiley boldly raise some tough issues . . . [They] start with a grim question—why are children violent?—and they forge a passionate and cogent argument for focusing our collective energies on infancy and parenthood to stop the cycle of ruined lives.” —The Seattle Times
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
December 1, 2007 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780802196330
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780802196330
- File size: 1697 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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December 30, 1996
Karr-Morse, a family therapist, and Wiley, chief of staff to the Oregon Speaker of the House, designed that state's Children's Care Team. They emphasize here the importance of experiences absorbed during the fetal stage and in the first two years of infancy for brain development. Drawing on new research studies, they show that activities by expectant mothers such as heavy drinking, drug use and an inadequate diet have a strong adverse effect on fetal neurological development. After birth, parental neglect and physical abuse may combine with prenatal trauma to further impair brain development and predispose a child toward violent behavior. Along with densely detailed research, the authors present case studies of violent children, focusing on Jeffrey, who has been on death row for committing a vicious murder at 16. Jeffrey describes a childhood marked by depressed, violent and neglectful parents. According to Wiley and Karr-Morse, unless society makes a commitment to providing nurturing care for all infants, the number of violent children will increase. This is a deeply disturbing wake-up call. Author tour.
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