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I Cried, You Didn't Listen / Consequence: The Aftermath
"I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS THE MOST POWERFUL TALE OF HORROR WITHIN THE WALLS OF PENAL INSTITUTIONS SINCE 'PAPILLON.' THE TERRIFYING ASPECT IS THAT IT DESCRIBES AMERICA'S JUVENILE SYSTEM" - Alden Mills, ARETE MAGAZINE
"THE AUTHOR'S WELL-WRITTEN STORY COMES AT THE READER FAST AND FURIOUSLY; SHOCKING READERS INTO AN AWARENESS OF THE INHUMANITY OF AMERICA'S JUVENILE PENAL INSTITUTIONS."- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS A POWERFUL INDICTMENT OF A SYSTEM THAT MAY HAVE LOST TRACK OF ITS PURPOSE."- Don Davis, THE SAN DIEGO UNION
An early Winner of the "Project Censored" Award of Excellence"; I Cried, You Didn't Listen is a powerful story. It is shocking, haunting and brutal. Although it is a rare and valuable document, what is exceptional is not Dwight Abbott's experience, but his clarity and courage in sharing that experience.
Dwight tells the disturbing tale of a very young child, first committed to the care of the state because of family tragedy and bad luck. Once institutionalized, he must learn to live within the cruel dynamics of a system that grants power through violence and leaves children at the mercy of predatory adults. He is continually faced with the need to choose between dehumanizing options: Be predator or be prey. Even in Dwight's description of racialist violence we see the effect that the social system has had on him – cementing stereo-types and prejudices that become self-fulfilling prophesy.
Dwight's account is terrifying. Upon reading it, one must recognize that, faced with the stark choice between victimizing another and being a victim oneself, the morals and values that make sense in freedom fall away. Perpetrating violence appears as the best option for self-preservation. This is the fundamental dynamic at work in Dwight's institutional life. I Cried, You Didn't Listen shows that, within incarcerating institutions, violence in all its forms – sexual assault, cliques, crews, gangs, emotional abuse – is essentially about power and control both over and above one’s own sense of self. -Books not Bars
"THIS IS A SEARINGLY HONEST BOOK - READ IT IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE. DWIGHT EDGAR ABBOTT'S STORY WILL REVEAL MORE ABOUT THE SELF-FUELING HORRORS OF INCARCERATION THAN WOULD TEN OF THE AVERAGE CRIMINOLOGY TEXTS. FOR YEARS THIS BOOK HAS CIRCULATED AS AN ALMOST CULT UNDERGROUND DOCUMENT, A SIMPLE KEY TO EXPLAINING THE COMPLEX WRETCHED MESS THAT IS THE AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM." - Christian Parenti; American investigative journalist; writer of many widely published articles and author of: "LOCKDOWN AMERICA," "THE SOFT CAGE" AND "THE FREEDOM."
"SADLY, DWIGHT'S EXPERIENCE ECHOES THE STORIES OF THE THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE STILL WAREHOUSED AND DEHUMANIZED IN CALIFORNIA, BUT ALSO SERVES POWERFUL TESTAMENT TO THE NEED FOR A 180 DEGREE SHIFT IN HOW WE DEAL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN TROUBLE." - Van Jones, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ELLA BAKER CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
"CONSEQUENCE": the aftermath is the sequel to: "I Cried, You Didn't Listen". It is the story of the 'few' incarcerated children who 'survived' the California Youth Authority's 'Training camps'; only to become societies 'worst nightmares'. It is the 'sunset' of life for those who were: Innocent until “Made” Guilty".
"THE AUTHOR'S WELL-WRITTEN STORY COMES AT THE READER FAST AND FURIOUSLY; SHOCKING READERS INTO AN AWARENESS OF THE INHUMANITY OF AMERICA'S JUVENILE PENAL INSTITUTIONS."- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS A POWERFUL INDICTMENT OF A SYSTEM THAT MAY HAVE LOST TRACK OF ITS PURPOSE."- Don Davis, THE SAN DIEGO UNION
An early Winner of the "Project Censored" Award of Excellence"; I Cried, You Didn't Listen is a powerful story. It is shocking, haunting and brutal. Although it is a rare and valuable document, what is exceptional is not Dwight Abbott's experience, but his clarity and courage in sharing that experience.
Dwight tells the disturbing tale of a very young child, first committed to the care of the state because of family tragedy and bad luck. Once institutionalized, he must learn to live within the cruel dynamics of a system that grants power through violence and leaves children at the mercy of predatory adults. He is continually faced with the need to choose between dehumanizing options: Be predator or be prey. Even in Dwight's description of racialist violence we see the effect that the social system has had on him – cementing stereo-types and prejudices that become self-fulfilling prophesy.
Dwight's account is terrifying. Upon reading it, one must recognize that, faced with the stark choice between victimizing another and being a victim oneself, the morals and values that make sense in freedom fall away. Perpetrating violence appears as the best option for self-preservation. This is the fundamental dynamic at work in Dwight's institutional life. I Cried, You Didn't Listen shows that, within incarcerating institutions, violence in all its forms – sexual assault, cliques, crews, gangs, emotional abuse – is essentially about power and control both over and above one’s own sense of self. -Books not Bars
"THIS IS A SEARINGLY HONEST BOOK - READ IT IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE. DWIGHT EDGAR ABBOTT'S STORY WILL REVEAL MORE ABOUT THE SELF-FUELING HORRORS OF INCARCERATION THAN WOULD TEN OF THE AVERAGE CRIMINOLOGY TEXTS. FOR YEARS THIS BOOK HAS CIRCULATED AS AN ALMOST CULT UNDERGROUND DOCUMENT, A SIMPLE KEY TO EXPLAINING THE COMPLEX WRETCHED MESS THAT IS THE AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM." - Christian Parenti; American investigative journalist; writer of many widely published articles and author of: "LOCKDOWN AMERICA," "THE SOFT CAGE" AND "THE FREEDOM."
"SADLY, DWIGHT'S EXPERIENCE ECHOES THE STORIES OF THE THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE STILL WAREHOUSED AND DEHUMANIZED IN CALIFORNIA, BUT ALSO SERVES POWERFUL TESTAMENT TO THE NEED FOR A 180 DEGREE SHIFT IN HOW WE DEAL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN TROUBLE." - Van Jones, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ELLA BAKER CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
"CONSEQUENCE": the aftermath is the sequel to: "I Cried, You Didn't Listen". It is the story of the 'few' incarcerated children who 'survived' the California Youth Authority's 'Training camps'; only to become societies 'worst nightmares'. It is the 'sunset' of life for those who were: Innocent until “Made” Guilty".
608 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 22, 2015
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Dwight Edgar Abbott
10 books8 followersDwight "Sonny" Abbott was born within a secure Middle-Class family and was misplaced in the thick of California's abusive penal system.
At the age of nine, a family tragedy split up Dwight Abbott’s family, and forced him into the hands of the California Youth Authority. This is the chilling chronicle of his life behind bars—a story of brutality and survival; a dark journey showing how the systematic abuse of incarcerated children creates a cycle of criminal behavior that usually ends with prison or death.
In its first sterialization, I Cried, You Didn’t Listen won a Project Censored award for stories that are significant, yet under-reported in the mainstream media. This second edition contains an introduction by Books Not Bars, new pieces by the author, and writing from more recent victims of the CYA.
Dwight Abbott, has been in and out of prison since his childhood. He is now serving multiple life sentences in Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, CA.
“This is a searingly honest book — read it if you have the courage. Dwight Edgar Abbott’s story will reveal more about the self-fueling horrors of incarceration than would ten of the average criminology texts. For years this book has circulated as an almost cult underground document, a simple key to explaining the complex wretched mess that is the American criminal justice system.” —CHRISTIAN PARENTI, author of Lockdown America, The Soft Cage and The Freedom
“Sadly, Dwight’s experience echoes the stories of the thousands of young people still warehoused and dehumanized in California, but also serves powerful testament to the need for a 180 degree shift in how we deal with young people in trouble.” —VAN JONES, Executive Director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
At the age of nine, a family tragedy split up Dwight Abbott’s family, and forced him into the hands of the California Youth Authority. This is the chilling chronicle of his life behind bars—a story of brutality and survival; a dark journey showing how the systematic abuse of incarcerated children creates a cycle of criminal behavior that usually ends with prison or death.
In its first sterialization, I Cried, You Didn’t Listen won a Project Censored award for stories that are significant, yet under-reported in the mainstream media. This second edition contains an introduction by Books Not Bars, new pieces by the author, and writing from more recent victims of the CYA.
Dwight Abbott, has been in and out of prison since his childhood. He is now serving multiple life sentences in Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, CA.
“This is a searingly honest book — read it if you have the courage. Dwight Edgar Abbott’s story will reveal more about the self-fueling horrors of incarceration than would ten of the average criminology texts. For years this book has circulated as an almost cult underground document, a simple key to explaining the complex wretched mess that is the American criminal justice system.” —CHRISTIAN PARENTI, author of Lockdown America, The Soft Cage and The Freedom
“Sadly, Dwight’s experience echoes the stories of the thousands of young people still warehoused and dehumanized in California, but also serves powerful testament to the need for a 180 degree shift in how we deal with young people in trouble.” —VAN JONES, Executive Director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
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