Streetchild: An Unpaved Passage

by Justin Reed Early

In the 1980's, the number of child runaways on the streets of Seattle was at epidemic proportions. The problem inspired the classic and riveting documentary, "STREETWISE", which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1984.Author Justin Reed Early, a credited participant of the documentary and now successful Los Angeles resident, tells the story of how he survived the arduous streets. We grow with this homeless youth as he relives a harrowing journey into adulthood. Justin introduces us to the characters and dramas of his younger years bringing new life to his street family as many of their lives have been silenced by AIDS, suicide and serial killers (the Green River killer).Join this tragic yet magical journey as Justin honors childhood heroes, pays tribute to many lost friends and learns of forgiveness when the now middle aged Justin is thrust into a life defining experience that will change his world - forever.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

289 pages, Hardcover

First published November 24, 2008

About the author

Justin Reed Early spent much of his childhood in Group Homes, Foster Care and on the streets as a 'Homeless Youth'.

Born in Bellingham, WA and ‘raised’ in Seattle, Justin was a young adult when he was presented an opportunity to change – and was given some tools required to succeed. He continues to advocate solutions for homeless and disadvantaged youth (and adults) and donates his book to various disadvantaged youth and the Programs that serve them.

Justin currently resides in New York City and Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Bonnie Toadvyn]

Excellent, honest

Totally enjoyed this book. The book took you through the system as seen by the author who is a very nice, non judgemental person. this book could have been longer and even more descriptive...I would recommend this book to everyone...needs more of an emphasis of friends and acquaintances, dead and failed. Early'

[Mary Ann Starr]

Excellent Difficult Read

This story is very sad but worth reading to increase awareness of what these "street children" are going through. Highly recommended, thank you Justin for writing this.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very heartbreaking book, I'm having a hard time reading this but I still can not put the book down.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing written. This is truly why I do the work I do. Kudos for Justin Early for sharing his story. It's incredibly powerful.

[Shiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! I was fortunate enough to have been given the book by the man who wrote it and he is a living miracle.

[Lisa Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow

:)hard to put down
should be standard reading for all social workers
really looks into the life of someone who has been there

[P.D. Workman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A raw, painful read. An eye-opener for those who are interested in helping children of all ages stuck in the vicious spiral of abuse and addiction.

[Christie Bane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. The guy has a natural voice, and his story is appalling and engaging. BUT the book is riddled with grammatical errors from first page to last. I almost gave it two stars because of that. That might seem harsh, but I look at it like this. I paid good money for this book; I as the reader deserve better than to come to a jarring halt every couple of pages (sometimes multiple times on the same page) because of some grammar or syntax foul-up. (Side note: I wrote a book and I am going to self-publish it, but not until I can afford an editor. And reading this book convinced me that I have made the right choice about that.)

Errors aside, the story itself is a revealing look into how kids end up on the streets. It touches on poverty, sex work, drugs and alcohol, child pornography, HIV, and even the Green River killer. It also shows how kids without their own families can find street families to give them what they weren't getting at home. The most touching thing in this book to me was Justin's relationship with Frankie. It just kept coming back even when he thought it was done. Don't we all have one of those?

I really hope the author writes another book and uses some of the proceeds from this one to get himself an editor.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutally honest

This book was amazing because it told the story of Mr Early without flossing over the horrendous things these kinds see on the street. I am amazed that this was self publishing shed. I pray the author continues to grow in his journey.

[Merredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing I've always liked about memoirs is that you are reading something that actually happened. No matter how mundane the story is, you're getting a slice of someone's life, someone's brain. Street Child by Justin Early is anything but mundane. Here is the story of a ten year old child who ends up on the streets, left to himself, except for the family that he's able to make from the other street children. This book completely pulled me in. Here I was, reading about Justin's life, and something bad would happen to him, like when he's picking up a trick, or he's getting high, and I'd forget that he was only just a kid. My childhood wasn't like that… Then suddenly, a well-placed photo would appear, and there he was, immediately reminding me that hey, he's only a baby. His whole narrative was great. The way he described his life with his street family alternated jarring things like the photos and realities of living on the street with normal scenes of hanging out with friends and the bonds they formed, which in a way made it more harrowing. Reading this book, I felt like I knew Justin. I started caring about him and what was happening. I cared so much that I'd have to take breaks from the book, and read other books. I cared so much that I started dreaming about things from the book. He'd be doing good, then something bad would happen, and I'd actually get mad at him. I'd tell my friends, 'Justin is so stupid! How could he do that?!?' I'd go from sad, to proud, then in awe, then mad, back to proud… literally an emotional rollercoaster. I admit, I can get overly into books, but it's not every book that will be able to affect me that way. The storyline was reminiscent of Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle, with the writing style more like Michelle Tea, but still different.
All I can say is that I'm impressed with this book, and this man. He was able to overcome street life, addiction, his family's prejudices, his own homophobia, coming out, HIV, and the loss of countless friends and family and pick himself up and become successful and write a book. That's just awesome.

[John Waiblinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Streetchild is an incredible and engaging first person narrative about one man's extraordinary journey in dealing with a life on the streets as a young boy, addiction and his own internalized homophobia. The book allowed me to delve deep into Justin's perspective and experience. This is a very compelling story told in what I would consider an easy, yet very involving, read. I very much respect the way Justin lays out some very grim realities and truths in an un-sensationalized, matter-of-fact manner. There's no preaching or moralizing - it's the facts, the truth, and his perspective - I really appreciated that! I found Justin's honesty about the setbacks he experiences after first pulling it together very real and true. His self examination of his own difficulties with being gay and thinking about love, friendship and family are remarkable in their affirmation of the human spirit. It is wonderful to read how much humanity exists even in the exploitative and difficult environments he found himself in. Reading how Justin's past continues to weave itself through the present, choices that are difficult, falling and getting it back together, and developing a philosophy that provides a framework to embrace it all, is what makes this book inspiring and a joyful read.

This is an important story that needs telling and reading. It is the experience of far too many youth, coming from abusive homes and provided little support or understanding of who they are and how to address the pain in their lives. Justin doesn't particularly endorse any solutions or how-tos -- instead the book allows us to see a reality that is too often ignored or pushed into the background. That is, I believe, the incredible value of this book and what makes it so accessible. Draw your own conclusions! I trust that Justin's book, and his work in promoting it, will draw necessary attention to the plight of youth living similar experiences today and help us, as a society, continue to face and address these realities. I highly recommend this book - read it!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, although it was horrifying at times. It's hard to believe that a child of 10 could live and survive on the streets for all those years.

I was glad that Justin was able to get his life together and kick his substance abuse habits. I was also glad he was able to build a relationship with his mother, even though I think he was too quick to forgive, as I usually do when I read these kinds of books. Maybe if she had stood up for herself, for her child, Justin wouldn't have been living on the streets and his life would have turned out differently. Instead, she spent years cowing down to her despicable husband until he finally relieved the world of his disgusting presence.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Justin's story.

[Sage Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting and captivating.

Hard to read and yet illuminates some very real and very important problems. The matter-of-fact tone highlights the tragedy of the situation and gives punch to the call-for-action that the story inspires.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What an incredible journey Justin has been on. At times this was a very emotional read, but well worth it.