Statement for Amazon Listing Dr. Brady's newly released book, Why Rich Women Shoplift When The Have It All, provides a unique and "non-psycho babble" view and insights into the twisting, convoluted, sad and devastating world of the woman shoplifter whose negative thefts can, sometimes lead to jail time, even for the "rich and famous." This book, written by a criminologist and California licensed forensic psychologist, answers questions about why well-off women in society, including the celebrities we all read about, choose to steal, when they know it's not in their best interest and many times ruins their professional careers and lives. Most importantly, Dr. Brady emphasizes, "It's not about the stuff," nor is it need or greed that drives them, because they already have lots of luxury trappings and money to spare. It's really about the psychological composition of these women who, on the exterior seem, well, happy, yet on closer examination, they are lonely, disenfranchised, out of control and out of sorts with themselves and those around them. Many are driven to theft because the feel they were dealt a bad hand somewhere along the line in their lives, and now desire to "even the score" so to speak. In a word, they are desperate! They easily could be your neighbor, friend, child, spouse or even your mother. Their psychological hurt, being very real, is somehow compensated, through the short-term lift provided via theft. But, the hurt and thefts just don't end. Dr. Brady sees the rich shoplifter as the real victim, and not Saks Fifth Avenue or Macy's. Questions concerning why these women risk it all when it appears they already have it all then go ahead and steal are answered. For instance, why are so many women shoplifters highly medicated when studies show that drugs often make their thefts recur? Is shoplifting, as Dr. Brady believes, an addiction so they can't stop even after being arrested ten or fifteen times? Why would a highly successful, upper-management and well respected member of the community suddenly begin the extract her own blood after stealing? Why, in fact, are women shoplifters negatively labeled as societal deviants whereas their male counterparts are not? And, why do these highly wealthy yet low on self esteem women become trapped in, what Dr. Brady has uniquely termed, the "Shoplifting Zone?" When women begin to cycle into the theft zone what contributes to them becoming trapped? It's like a shoplifters Hotel California- "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!" Here's what two distinguished behavioral scientists say about the book. " While it is meticulously researched and cited, Dr. Brady writes in an engaging and open manner with real life cases suitable for all readers. This book will soon become the standard-bearer on the issue." Robert Costello, J.D., Ed.D., Chair Criminal Justice Department, SUNY Nassau Community College, Adjunct Associate Professor, Sociology Department, Hofstra University. "Dr. Brady...has written one of the most important and in-depth professional tomes on the social psychological factors that influence women to shoplift." Terrence Shulman, J.D., LMSW, ASCW, An author of four books on shoplifting

A history of shoplifting, revealing the roots of our modern dilemma. Rachel Shteir's The Steal is the first serious study of shoplifting, tracking the fascinating history of this ancient crime. Dismissed by academia and the mainstream media and largely misunderstood, shoplifting has become the territory of moralists, mischievous teenagers, tabloid television, and self-help gurus. But shoplifting incurs remarkable real-life costs for retailers and consumers. The "crime tax"-the amount every American family loses to shoplifting-related price inflation-is more than $400 a year. Shoplifting cost American retailers $11.7 billion in 2009. The theft of one $5.00 item from Whole Foods can require sales of hundreds of dollars to break even. The Steal begins when shoplifting entered the modern record as urbanization and consumerism made London into Europe's busiest mercantile capital. Crossing the channel to nineteenth-century Paris, Shteir tracks the rise of the department store and the pathologizing of shoplifting as kleptomania. In 1960s America, shoplifting becomes a symbol of resistance when the publication of Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book popularizes shoplifting as an antiestablishment act. Some contemporary analysts see our current epidemic as a response to a culture of hyper-consumerism; others question whether its upticks can be tied to economic downturns at all. Few provide convincing theories about why it goes up or down. Just as experts can't agree on why people shoplift, they can't agree on how to stop it. Shoplifting has been punished by death, discouraged by shame tactics, and protected against by high-tech surveillance. Shoplifters have been treated by psychoanalysis, medicated with pharmaceuticals, and enforced by law to attend rehabilitation groups. While a few individuals have abandoned their sticky-fingered habits, shoplifting shows no signs of slowing. In The Steal, Shteir guides us through a remarkable tour of all things shoplifting-we visit the Woodbury Commons Outlet Mall, where boosters run rampant, watch the surveillance footage from Winona Ryder's famed shopping trip, and learn the history of antitheft technology. A groundbreaking study, The Steal shows us that shoplifting in its many guises-crime, disease, protest-is best understood as a reflection of our society, ourselves.

Certain features of criminal behaviours parallel those of addictions. This book explores addiction models in their application to the understanding and treatment of some criminal behaviours.

A funny autobiographical tale about growing up in the digital age, from a groundbreaking author whose writing is “reminiscent of early Douglas Coupland, or early Bret Easton Ellis” (The Guardian) This autobiographical novella is described by the author as “a shoplifting book about vague relationships,” and “an ultimately life-affirming book about how the unidirectional nature of time renders everything beautiful and sad.” From VIP rooms in hip New York City clubs to central booking in Chinatown, from New York University’s Bobst Library to a bus in someone’s backyard in a Floridian college town, from Bret Easton Ellis to Lorrie Moore, and from Moby to Schumann, Shoplifting from American Apparel explores class, culture, and the arts in all their American forms through the funny, journalistic, and existentially-minded narrative of someone trying to both “not be a bad person” and “find some kind of happiness or something.” “Tao's writing . . . has the force of the real.” —Ben Lerner, author of The Topeka School

“A truly addictive read” (Glamour) about how a young woman’s crush on a privileged former classmate becomes a story of love, lies, and dark obsession, offering stark insights into the immigrant experience, as it hurtles to its electrifying ending in this “twisty, unputdownable, psychological thriller” (People). Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar—but you’d never know it by looking at her. Raised outside of Boston, Ivy’s immigrant grandmother relies on Ivy’s mild appearance for cover as she teaches her granddaughter how to pilfer items from yard sales and second-hand shops. Thieving allows Ivy to accumulate the trappings of a suburban teen—and, most importantly, to attract the attention of Gideon Speyer, the golden boy of a wealthy political family. But when Ivy’s mother discovers her trespasses, punishment is swift and Ivy is sent to China, and her dream instantly evaporates. Years later, Ivy has grown into a poised yet restless young woman, haunted by her conflicting feelings about her upbringing and her family. Back in Boston, when Ivy bumps into Sylvia Speyer, Gideon’s sister, a reconnection with Gideon seems not only inevitable—it feels like fate. Slowly, Ivy sinks her claws into Gideon and the entire Speyer clan by attending fancy dinners, and weekend getaways to the cape. But just as Ivy is about to have everything she’s ever wanted, a ghost from her past resurfaces, threatening the nearly perfect life she’s worked so hard to build. Filled with surprising twists and a nuanced exploration of class and race, White Ivy is a “highly entertaining,” (The Washington Post) “propulsive debut” (San Francisco Chronicle) that offers a glimpse into the dark side of a woman who yearns for success at any cost.

This book focuses on middle-class urban women as participants in new forms of consumer culture. Within the special world of the department store, women found themselves challenged to resist the enticements of consumption. Many succumbed, buying both what they needed and what they desired, but also stealing what seemed so readily available. Pitted against these middle-class women were the management, detectives, and clerks of the department stores. Abelson argues that in the interest of concealing this darker side of consumerism, women of the middle class, but not those of the working class, were allowed to shoplift and plead incapacitating illness--kleptomania. The invention of kleptomania by psychiatrists and the adoption of this ideology of feminine weakness by retailers, newspapers, the general public, the accused women themselves, and even the courts reveals the way in which a gender analysis allowed proponents of consumer capitalism to mask its contradictions.

Growing up on the rough streets of Newark, New Jersey, Rameck, George,and Sampson could easily have followed their childhood friends into drug dealing, gangs, and prison. But when a presentation at their school made the three boys aware of the opportunities available to them in the medical and dental professions, they made a pact among themselves that they would become doctors. It took a lot of determination—and a lot of support from one another—but despite all the hardships along the way, the three succeeded. Retold with the help of an award-winning author, this younger adaptation of the adult hit novel The Pact is a hard-hitting, powerful, and inspirational book that will speak to young readers everywhere.