Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women

Widely hailed as a stunning memoir from someone more likely to be locked up or otherwise silenced, Becoming Ms. Burton is the “miraculously inspirational” (Vivian Nixon) life story of Susan Burton, whose organization A New Way of Life has transformed the lives of more than one thousand formerly incarcerated women in Los Angeles.

In this “stirring and moving tour-de-force” (John Legend), Susan takes us on her own journey through the criminal justice system—from growing up amid poverty and abuse in Los Angeles to becoming addicted to cocaine and crack after tragically losing her son, and from cycling in and out of prison for more than fifteen years to her transformation into a powerful advocate for “a more humane justice system guided by compassion and dignity” (Booklist, starred review).

Frequently compared to The New Jim Crow and Just Mercy, Becoming Ms. Burton is a beautifully written and unforgettable book that humanizes the devastating impact of mass incarceration and powerfully shows the structural and policy changes that can restore the lives of formerly incarcerated people. A reading group guide appears at the back of the book.