Science and Nature

Education and Learning

Before Their Crimes

What We're Misunderstanding about Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to HealingWendy Smith

Audio only

Length9h 2m

About this audiobook

Juvenile crime doesn’t just happen—there is always a story behind it. Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding about Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing is a ground-breaking audiobook that sheds new light on the relationship of childhood trauma and juvenile crime. Wendy Smith uses the framework of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to explain how the toxic stress of early childhood trauma can make children vulnerable to committing criminal acts. Smith draws from interviews with twenty men and women from across the racial and social divide who spent years in prison after committing serious crimes as children. Smith not only reveals the pernicious mechanisms that link early trauma to later crime, but also illuminates the potential for healing among even the most egregious offenders.

Crime

Psychological

Family

Healing

Redemption

Identity

Journey

Grief

Hopepunk

Audiobook details

GenreScience and Nature, Education and Learning

Length9 hrs 2 mins

Narrated byHillary Huber, Kirsten Potter, various narrators, Adenrele Ojo, Kyla Garcia, Stacy Gonzalez, Alex Boyles, Zac Aleman, Kenneth Fuentes, Tim Lounibos, Jamie Lincoln Smith, Nicole Cash

FormatAudiobook

Publish dateJan 10, 2026

LanguageEnglish

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About the author

Wendy Smith

Wendy Smith, PhD, LCSW, is a Distinguished Continuing Scholar in Child Welfare and former professor and associate dean at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. After thirty-five years of practicing psychotherapy and university teaching, Dr. Smith turned to providing leadership to nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems.View all by Wendy Smith