Vulnerable Minds: The HARM of Childhood Trauma and the HOPE OF Resilience
New from Marc D Hauser, published 3.12.2024 by Avery-Penguin-Random House Books.
"Children are our future” is not just a politician’s cliché but a vital reality. Too many of our children have to overcome trauma from abuse and neglect, with cascading consequences for the country. Marc Hauser combines with a keen eye for scientific data, a sensitivity to human suffering, and relevant personal experience to cut through the myths and ignorance. He offers both insight and actionable proposals for how we can understand an issue of profound human and social importance.
— Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of "How the Mind Works" and "Rationality"
For as long as human history has been recorded, and most likely well before, millions of children living in the city or countryside, in poor or wealthy countries, with or without formal education, and with the full diversity of racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that human evolution has afforded, have suffered from toxic adversities including deprivation, abuse, domestic and community violence, war, poverty, disease and displacement.
“Vulnerable Minds” provides a new, scientific and humanistic understanding of how different types of adversity, along with their timing, tenure, turbulence, and toxicity create unique signatures of trauma – scarring the developing child’s body and brain.
Praise
“Deeply informed, profoundly moving, Marc Hauser's remarkable book not only reveals the indescribable tragedy of loss of childhood but also shows how sympathy and understanding along with impressive advances of science can offer escape and hope for the victims.”
— Noam Chomsky, Laureate Professor, University of Arizona, author of "The Precipice" and "Chomsky for Activists"
“Hauser is not just a renowned scientist, he is an exceptionally accessible writer. Educators, parents, and policymakers will find this clear and compelling book an invaluable guide to understanding and protecting our most vulnerable children.”
— Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia, author of Why Don't Students Like School?
“We have long known that children exposed to adversity in the early years of life are at risk for experiencing both mental and physical health concerns as they grow older. Sadly, today’s youth seem to be confronted with even more challenges than in previous generations. The world-wide coronavirus pandemic, mass shootings and an unprecedented refugee crisis are but three examples. In Marc Hauser’s well-researched, exquisitely written and heartfelt account of the misfortunes and horrors many children face, we learn how some children suffer greatly and a fortunate few are spared. For anyone interested in how early life adversity impacts the course of child development, I strongly encourage them to read Vulnerable Minds.”
— Charles A. Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics, Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research, Boston Children’s Hospital, author of Romania's Abandoned Children: Deprivation, brain development, and the struggle for recovery
“Vulnerable Minds is a mesmerizing read on an extremely important topic. Marc Hauser lucidly illuminates the science that establishes and explains the physical and psychological consequences of many kinds of adversity endured by millions of children in the US and around the world. Hauser documents in heartbreaking detail the prevalence of extreme neglect, and of emotional, physical and sexual abuse, as well as their devastating effects on children’s physical and mental health. But the book also offers hope via evidence that many forms of intervention can ameliorate or even reverse the damage done to bodies and minds by childhood adversity. Vulnerable Minds is a call to action: we, as a society, cannot continue failing our children.”
— Susan Carey, Morse Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of The Origin of Concepts
“I want this book in the hands of every medical student , health professional and educator! It so eloquently and compassionately outlines the profound impact of childhood adversity, maltreatment and neglect that affects lifelong health learning and behavior. If people were to understand what Hauser has labeled the adverseT’s and which he has so professionally researched and accessibly documented, we would see children and youth treated in ways that could change their pathways in life, creating a sense of belonging and realizing their potential, even with their pasts. He opens our eyes to the possibilities too, with many stories of how when we see young people as at promise, rather than solely at risk, opportunities arise. Vulnerable Minds is a wonderful addition to the world of understanding adversity and hope and a great example of how we can close the gap between what we know and what we do.”
— Jean Clinton, Clinical Professor, Child Psychiatry. McMaster University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Ontario Canada, and the author of Love Builds Brains
“The driving force of misery and violence throughout generations is the victimization of children. As a result, individuals and entire societies live on as both, victims and perpetrators. In a unique and impressive masterpiece, Marc Hauser has elaborated the full spectrum of childhood adversities and its consequences. This "must read” book provides the reader not only with revolutionary insights into the very nature and suffering of humans, but gives hope as it provides the necessary compass towards a better place in this world.”
— Thomas Elbert, Professor, University of Konstanz; Honorary Professor, Université Lumiére, Bujumbura; Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina); author of Narrative Exposure Therapy
“It will come as no surprise that childhood adversity can undermine the short- and long-term well-being of children and adolescents, no doubt because developmental scholars have been sharing their knowledge on this subject for more than half a century. But beyond the commonsensical claim that bad exposures lead to bad outcomes, there is much about how early life shapes human development that remains under-appreciated, if only because keeping up with this ever-faster-moving field is a full-time job. Fortunately, Vulnerable Minds makes eminently accessible to the non-expert much of what state-of-the-art research has taught us since the turn of the century. Even as so much of this latest work proves disheartening, this book also highlights what is promising, including that mistreated children often develop hidden talents; that children vary immensely in how and whether they are affected by adversity; and what can—and still needs to be—done so that ever more children can experience the developmental fruits of growing up safe and secure.”
— Jay Belsky. Emeritus Professor, University of California-Davis, author The Origins of You: How childhood shapes later life
Marc Hauser's Vulnerable Minds is a tour de force! With exceptional depth and breadth of scholarship, Hauser uses research and theory to illuminate the lives of children growing up amidst adversity, while showing that they are not doomed to succumb to it if the forces of resilience, compassion and social justice are mobilized on their behalf.
— James Garbarino, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Cornell University and Loyola University Chicago, author of Miller's Children: Why giving teenage killers a second chance matters to all of us and Listening to Killers
With the experience of a caring parent, insights of an experienced teacher and analytical skills of a scientist, Marc Hauser trains his eyes on Adverse Childhood Events, or ACEs. He describes how children process adversity differently depending on its type, timing, toxicity, how long it lasts, and on how much local support they find. Along with clear and succinct explanations of the physical and mental health impacts of early adversity Hauser provides constructive proposals for dealing with trauma’s consequences. Anyone raising, interacting with, supervising or devising policies that impact children needs to read this book.
— Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology University of California Davis, author of “Mother Nature” and “Mothers and Others: The evolutionary origins of mutual understanding”
Purchase Vulnerable Minds to learn while simultaneously contributing part of the sales to organizations helping vulnerable children.
