An award-winning scholar exposes the foundational racism of the child welfare system and calls for radical change Many believe the child welfare system protects children from abuse. But as Torn Apart uncovers, this system is designed to punish Black families. Drawing on decades of research, legal scholar and sociologist Dorothy Roberts reveals that the child welfare system is better understood as a “family policing system” that collaborates with law enforcement and prisons to oppress Black communities. Child protection investigations ensnare a majority of Black children, putting their families under intense state surveillance and regulation. Black children are disproportionately likely to be torn from their families and placed in foster care, driving many to juvenile detention and imprisonment. The only way to stop the destruction caused by family policing, Torn Apart argues, is to abolish the child welfare system and liberate Black communities.

The horrors that thousands of lesbian and gay couples face are detailed in this moving political and personal story of immigration and love. As Judy and Karin’s legal battles reveal, when only one half of a gay couple is an American citizen, immigration struggles are confounded by the fact that the partners cannot legally marry in most parts of the United States. With resources that outline which organizations can help and what the challenges and the realities of this situation are, this reference reaches out to couples, their friends and family, and anyone interested in assisting by offering advice and camaraderie on this subset of the gay marriage issue. Royalties from the book, which is published in association with Immigration Equality and Out4Immigration, go to groups working to overcome immigration denial for gay couples.

"Gericke knows how to tighten the screws and keep the fear and tension building." --Tess Gerritsen A teenage girl, brutalized and discarded. A rural sheriff, gunned down and left to die. A beloved landmark, destroyed in an instant. A tidal wave of violence is rushing full-speed toward the quiet Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois. Detective Emily Thompson is locked and loaded--ready to stop the bloody crime spree in its tracks. But she's up against a deadly countdown that threatens everyone she knows and loves. . . Her partner. Her best friend. Her whole world. In these final desperate hours, Emily will bring down the most diabolical killer she has ever faced--or die trying. . . "A no-nonsense thriller, action-packed and explosive." --Erica Spindler "Gericke's writing is a blistering rush of sheer artistry." --Ken Bruen "Gericke's power is unforgettable." --Gayle Lynds "Cross James Patterson with Joseph Wambaugh and you get Shane Gericke." --American Cop "Gericke is the real deal." --Lee Child "A high-rev, page-turning thriller." --Jeffery Deaver

Alyson thinks her life is perfect. Hectic and tiring, of course, but no more so than any other wife and mother of four boys. But with her husband becoming increasingly distant, Alyson wonders if there's something she's doing wrong. Little does she know that the actions of someone she loves dearly are about to change her life forever. Alyson never imagined it could happen to her, and when it did, she realized it could happen to anyone . . . Based on a true story, Torn Apart is a heartrending inside look at how pornography can rip families apart and shatter the lives of everyone involved. This growing problem can infect any family and often goes unnoticed for years. Full of heartache and courage, Torn Apart provides hope for those affected by pornography by showing that, through God's love, even this devastating addiction can be overcome.

Shattered Bonds is a stirring account of a worsening American social crisis--the disproportionate representation of black children in the U.S. foster care system and its effects on black communities and the country as a whole. Tying the origins and impact of this disparity to racial injustice, Dorothy Roberts contends that child-welfare policy reflects a political choice to address startling rates of black child poverty by punishing parents instead of tackling poverty's societal roots. Using conversations with mothers battling the Chicago child-welfare system for custody of their children, along with national data, Roberts levels a powerful indictment of racial disparities in foster care and tells a moving story of the women and children who earn our respect in their fight to keep their families intact.

"Mick Middles was the first journalist to interview Joy Division for the music press and formed a close association with the band. Lindsay Reade was a co-founder of Factory Records along with her then-husband Tony Wilson. Together they have revisited the legend of Ian Curtis and produced the first full-length account of this troubled man's life, work and relationships in the midst of the unique explosion of pop energy that hit Manchester in the late Seventies"--Cover.

The twister that touches down in Bordelaise, Louisiana, not only destroys the calm of a summer Sunday, it pierces the soul of Katie Earle, whose young son Bobby goes missing…and it wasn't the storm that took him. Katie's first thought is that her estranged husband, J.R., saw his chance and grabbed Bobby to spite her. But the reality goes beyond that to truly horrifying, and now her nightmare is only just beginning. The real terror will begin when the tornado's wreckage is cleared away and the kidnapper can escape with his prize. The agony of uncertainty grows with every passing hour as Katie and J.R. reunite with a single, desperate purpose: to find their son before he slips from their grasp…forever.