Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women
By Susan Burton and Cari Lynn, with a foreword by Michelle Alexander
The New Press, 2017
Reviewed by Joan Duerst and Pam Gates
Susan Burton has lived her whole life in Los Angeles’s Watts neighborhood – except for the times she spent in California’s jails or prisons on drug-related offenses. Readers will be captured by the ups and downs of Sue’s early life, narrated in the first 18 chapters, Part 1. She grew up in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father who was very dear to her and a mother who, though she could be compassionate and generous, was always harsh with Sue. At age 14, Sue was gang-raped while walking home with a girlfriend after a party. The result was a baby girl, Toni, whom Sue refused to put up for adoption.
Sue lost her second child in a traffic accident; the 5-year-old was accidentally killed by a police officer as the child ran across the street in a crosswalk. No one ever even apologized. Sue succumbed to despair, numbing the pain with drugs. She eventually escaped her home by jumping out of her mother’s car; she ended up a prostitute, hooked on crack and in and out of prison. Toni learned to rely on her grandmother, Sue’s mother, who became “Mama” to her.
Many chapters, many relapses, and many releases later, Sue moved into the house that would become the first SAFE House. Of this moment, she wrote: “I had no idea I was on the brink of something that would become larger and more meaningful than I could ever have imagined. My first night in the house in Watts, I stared up at the ceiling. I was lonely, but the least lonely I’d ever felt.”
In Part 2, “Ms. Burton,” Susan Burton creates the house for previously incarcerated women that will eventually grow into five houses, together called A New Way of Life. She also becomes a community organizer who brings together people and organizations that challenge and bring change to practices and laws that block incarcerated women from the chance to become responsible citizens and good mothers to their children.
Every chapter of this book begins with a piece of information or a statistic that connects Burton’s story to the bigger story of women who end up in prison. For example, Chapter 7 begins thus: Two-thirds of those working as prostitutes disclosed having been sexually abused as children – and more than 90% said they never told anyone. Only 1% reported having received counseling.
You will get the rest of the story when you read the book; we recommend it highly. The statements at the beginning of each chapter give an outline of a life of addiction and despair, but one that is turned around into a life of activism and hope. It’s very capably written, and judging by who wrote the foreword, you already know that it is also a highly worthwhile book.
Co-author Cari Lynn writes: “Thank you [to Susan] for bravely and patiently sharing your stories, some painful, all triumphant … I have been fortunate to spend a couple of years in Susan’s world, surrounded by bright minds, pure grit, and constant inspiration.” May our MOSES readers take advantage of this fine, gripping story to experience all of that for themselves!
This book gives readers a chance to live in Ms. Burton’s world. They will not only learn about the gift of the SAFE House in Madison, but also see the constant challenges of community organizing. How will MOSES, like Ms. Burton, work to dismantle the systems of mass incarceration and mass supervision and eradicate the racial disparities that make these systems the new Jim Crow?
Special note: Ms. Burton is coming to Madison! She will be the keynote speaker at EXPO’s Gala on Oct. 5, 2024! Reserve your place; she should be a powerful, inspiring speaker!