Publisher Description

"An absorbing piece of narrative nonfiction . . . A rare glimpse of what it is like to man these front lines of the war on child abuse—and what it does to a person's soul. . . . Devastating [and] mesmerizing."—The Los Angeles Times

Featuring a new Afterword by the author

Why does an infant die of malnutrition? Why does an eight-year-old hold a knife to his brother's throat? Or a mother push her cherished daughter twenty-three floors to her death? Marc Parent, a city caseworker, searched the streets—and his heart—for the answers, and shares them in this powerful, vivid, beautifully written book.

Author Biography

Marc Parent is the author of Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize as well as a New Visions nominee and a NEBA Honorary Selection, and Believing It All: What My Children Taught Me About Trout Fishing, Jelly Toast, and Life. He has written for The New York Times and USA Today, among other publications.

Review

"A revelatory and affirmative work, a grace note played against the darkest passages of family life."—Newsday

"Riveting . . . combines humor and pathos, horror and joy . . . This book is not the observation of a journalist. This comes straight from the heart."—Denver Free Press

"Turning Stones is by turns discomforting and painful, comical and hopeful. Marc Parent's unblinking honesty made me wince. His deft storytelling made me sit up and listen. And his love for the children—and  yes, their parents—made me want to turn stones as well."—Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here

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