Kenneth R. Rosen has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, VQR, and the Atlantic. He is a contributing writer at WIRED and the author of Bulletproof Vest. He spent six years at the New York Times, his hometown newspaper, and now divides his time between northern Italy and Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.kennethrrosen.com.
A New York Times “Book to Watch For”
Next Big Idea Book Club Finalist
Vol.1 Brooklyn Book of the Month
“Rosen takes impressive steps to mitigate his admitted biases.
Rather than turn Troubled into a Boy, Interrupted-style memoir, he
focuses on four other graduates of tough-love programs, using their
stories as windows into three very different types of facility.
Rosen says he approached dozens of former participants before
finding people who were willing to open up, and he spent a number
of years with each of them to understand them better. This alone
turns Troubled into not just a work of extended empathy but a
public service; these life stories, taken together, shine a light
on an industry that has been able to thrive in darkness.” —The New
York Times
“Newsweek’s own Rosen draws on his own experience and more than 100
interviews in this brutally frank expose of America’s ‘tough love’
programs, following four graduates on their journey to adulthood
and revealing the disturbing truth about the redirection industry.”
—Newsweek
“His narrative—anchored by four young adults sent to similar ‘tough
love’ environments—shows that many programs inflict lasting damage
on the people they claim to help. Ultimately, the book makes a
strong case for reforming the practice.” —The New York Times
“The stories are enlightening and engaging even as they reveal the
shady, often abusive tactics used to snap these troubled children
into behaving in a way that society deems acceptable. This book is
a necessary exposé for any parent who has considered sending their
child to one of these camps. Rosen also gives voice to the
thousands who have gone through these programs, and the text should
be helpful in encouraging them to speak out about their
experiences…Highly charged personal stories coalesce into a frank
disclosure about the ‘forced redirection of wayward teenagers.’”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Kenneth Rosen visits the podcast to discuss his new book,
Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment
Programs. The book is an examination of the ‘tough-love industry’
of wilderness camps and residential therapeutic programs for young
people. Rosen himself, as a troubled teen, spent time at a few of
these places, and his book strongly criticizes their methods.” —The
New York Times
“Journalist Kenneth Rosen drew on personal experiences to write
this investigative work of nonfiction. Troubled exposes the cycles
of abuse and manipulation deployed at wilderness camps to reform
‘troubled teens,’ many of whom are living with mental illness.”
—Bustle
“Rosen experienced a few of the tough-love institutes that he
writes about in this searing exposé: wilderness camps and
therapeutic programs that treat young substance abusers and
troublemakers, largely unregulated.” —The New York Times
“In Troubled, Kenneth R. Rosen is the exact right Conrad to take us
into the heart of this immense darkness. Rosen’s insight, rigor,
and sympathy ensure this book will stand as the definitive
treatment of this troubled, troubling industry. An experience you
won’t forget.” —Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life and The Queen
of Tuesday
“Troubled is a searing chronicle of the unfortunate era of ‘tough
love’ programs for wayward American youth, told with detail and
compassion, as well as an eloquent kind of well-merited rage.”
—Luke Mogelson, contributing writer at the New Yorker
“Troubled by Kenneth R. Rosen is the first book written by a
survivor to investigate the longer-term outcomes of adolescents who
were subjected to this ‘treatment’…If you are a parent considering
seeking help for your teenager or a program survivor, I urge you to
read this book and heed its lessons.” —Maia Szalavitz, author of
Help at Any Cost
“Profoundly unsettling, Troubled reveals a tough-love industry in
disarray. Kenneth R. Rosen combines brilliant reporting skills and
brutal firsthand experience in this captivating read.” —Michael
Harris, author of Solitude and The End of Absence
“Kenneth R. Rosen is a relentless reporter, and he provides a
piercing view inside the disturbing, largely unregulated
teen-rehabilitation industry. Rosen ensures you ask the question of
what we’re doing to our nation’s children and who, and what, is in
fact ‘troubled.’” —Sylvia A. Harvey, author of The Shadow
System
“A vivid and eye-opening plea for reform. Rosen writes as a
journalist, but also from personal experience, about getting
‘kidnapped’ to live in the strange world of teenage behavioral boot
camps—which is an industry in America with its own unsavory logic.”
—Michael Scott Moore, author of The Desert and the Sea
“Troubled investigates the unregulated Wild West of programs that
claim to treat delinquent teenagers but actually further traumatize
and harm them. From wilderness programs to residential treatment
centers, these institutions prey on desperate parents who believe
their children can be scared straight. Kenneth Rosen’s
heartbreaking, deeply reported book should be required reading for
parents, therapists, educators, school consultants, and anyone
concerned about the most vulnerable in our society: our children.
Troubled follows four teens through four different programs, keenly
documenting the resultant physical and mental abuse from those
entrusted with their care. With a journalist’s eye and a former
troubled teen’s heart, Rosen makes a powerful case for eliminating
this cruel part of the school-to-prison pipeline. A powerful,
revealing expose.” —Katherine Reynolds Lewis, author of The Good
News About Bad Behavior
Ask a Question About this Product More... |