Waubonsee Community College

Renegade dreams, living through injury in gangland Chicago, Laurence Ralph

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Renegade dreams

bibliography

869588995

Laurence Ralph

living through injury in gangland Chicago

Every morning Chicagoans wake up to the same stark headlines that read like some macabre score: "13 shot, 4 dead overnight across the city," and nearly every morning the same elision occurs: what of the nine other victims? As with war, much of our focus on inner-city violence is on the death toll, but the reality is that far more victims live to see another day and must cope with their injuries--both physical and psychological--for the rest of their lives. Renegade Dreams is their story. Walking the streets of one of Chicago's most violent neighborhoods--where the local gang has been active for more than fifty years--Laurence Ralph talks with people whose lives are irrecoverably damaged, seeking to understand how they cope and how they can be better helped

Introduction : the underside of injury, or, How to dream like a renegade -- Field notes : late death -- Development, or, Why grandmothers ally with the gang -- Field notes : early funerals -- Nostalgia, or, The stories the gang tells about itself -- Field notes : inside jokes -- Authenticity, or, Why people can't leave the gang -- Field notes : getting in -- Disability, or, Why a gang leader helps stop the violence -- Field notes : resilience -- Disease, or, How a will to survive helps healing -- Field notes : framing -- Conclusion : the frame, or, how to get out of an isolated space -- Postscript : a renegade dream come true