I chose to read this as an advanced reader copy because as someone going into medicine and obtaining a public health degree, it’s vital to understand how the systems we practice in perpetuate harm and vilify communities and populations. As someone who has worked in the carceral healthcare system in one of the largest state prisons in the US, I have also seen the abject and horrible neglect, abuse, violence, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia that occurs at the juncture between medical care and the carceral state. So needless to say, I agree that the next path forward is abolition of these states that perpetuate these deleterious and unjust systems. The work done by the editors and various chapter authors to find correlating research and fact dissemination is exemplary and should be a used as a great example of the intersectionality between public health theory and public health practice. By taking the lived experiences of every member representative of these systems, you get a more nuanced and structured approach that all argue for the same thing - abolition of our so called “safety” systems, which are merely punitive measures for those individuals who do not meet the normative demands of “success” or “productivity.”

In reading this book, I had two critiques of it. The first and largest critiques is that while this book features a lot of carefully done research and pointing to real world examples of abolitionist movements and communities, they’re not nationwide. The abolitionist movements described here and the authorship base are primarily in California and New York - two “blue” or “liberal” states. If you’re going to talk about abolition and amplify the voices of the marginalized, you have to talk about things happening all across the country. The authors/editors make no mention of southern states like Texas - which has the second largest state prison system, the TDCJ - which has so many underreported crimes against humanity for their inhumane treatment of individuals in the system. I was expecting at least one of the chapters on the carceral system to address Texas’ abject carceral system - and all there was was one paragraph in the last chapter that was quite paltry.

This marginalization of southern states and the work that abolitionists are doing in southern states is a chronic issue I see sometimes in advocacy efforts - it’s not enough to amplify what is being done in a liberal state, you need to take care to mention the states that are hit the hardest with racism, gerrymandering, school to prison pipelines, criminalization of drugs, and so much more. There is a whole chapter devoted to abolishing ICE transfers - and yet the chapter focuses on California again, and not Texas.

My second critique was a more particular argument made in the last chapter. The primary authors make it clear that medicine and the US medical system is built on racist foundations - I do not argue that in the least. However, when they make the argument that black, Latinx, and indigenous populations are the least represented in medicine, they take a slight at Asian populations - claiming that they are overrepresented. Now I’m not saying that that isn’t true - but did anyone stop to think about why that is? The movement of Asian populations into medicine has everything to do with racism, from things such as the model minority myth to how we perpetuate stereotypes against Asian culture and their commitment to academic excellence. I merely wish the primary authors had taken a little more time to address why the system is oversaturated with Asian populations instead of having them get caught in the cross fire.

In all, I think this is a really strong work with some shortcomings, like most works out there. But I think this is a flaw of the system, not the individuals. I can easily see this book being used in academic or community book clubs, focus groups, or even a textbook for academic medicine, public health, social work, and community partners. I know that despite my critiques which I have levied here, I will still be purchasing this book and recommending it when it is released. My thanks to NetGalley, North Atlantic books, and the authors for this electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book has a lot of necessary information and I would definitely utilize parts of it while creating curriculum.

An important collection for anyone - including healthcare providers and patients - invested in equitable health systems and disability justice

A comprehensive and multidisciplinary, multi perspective book about abolitionism in healthcare, medicine, and justice practices.
Eyeopening and insightful, this book had the best of intentions at its heart. It is utopian, but practical.
The best part for me was the insights by the activists; their first-hand experience with the system in the US.
I had expected a more scientific approach in addition to the voices of those affected by the injustice and outdated practices.

Absolutely incredible book! I am so enormously glad that this exists, I really learned so much about health justice and abolition. I think this should really be required reading. Such an incredibly thoughtful collection!

I did not review this publicly because I did not finish reading it. While the stories and advocacy were powerful, I got stuck on observations being called studies.

As a public health researcher who now works on justice system policy change, I loved how concrete this collection is about opportunities to practice public health alternatives to carceral public safety. I enjoyed the artwork throughout and a particular favorite for me was Chapter 4, "Abolition is Public Health." The detailed inclusion of the American Public Health Association's adopted statement, "Advancing Public Health Interventions to Address the Harms of the Carceral System," was wonderful and I was especially inspired by the wide range of examples from jurisdictions across the U.S. and around the world. Overall, I found this to be an incredibly thoughtful and helpful guide to current, relevant, and practical abolitionist practice (grateful for the reminder of Huey P. Newton's concept of "survival pending revolution" and the limitations of crisis response in my own work at this moment in time, for example).

Huge thank you to NetGalley and North Atlantic Books for the advanced copy. I can't wait until this book officially comes out in April and I can gift it to colleagues and friends who work in healthcare, public health, and justice policy!

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in April. This is an important read about how we must view care through an abolitionist view point. Especially since care nowadays is very carceral. It's not a light read, it took me a month to read in little bits, but it puts disability justice central so I would clasify it as a must read.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher, North Atlantic Books, for providing me an opportunity to read this book. It was fascinating and also extremely eye-opening about so many topics that my privilege allows me to not encounter, unlike so many other people in this country. I was especially interested in the chapters about prison and what occurs in hospitals related to family protective services and police presence in places where you are seeking help. As someone with a counseling background and a base level understanding of how trauma effects the body and mind, this book ties together how our entire thought process behind methods of safety are actually harmful vs. helpful. It is no secret that black and brown individuals have been harmed in so many ways for generations, but this poignant book peels back the layers on everyday encounters that many of us with privilege may have and never think twice about. But for a black, brown, trans, or disabled person, that same interaction with a medical professional, police officer, social worker, etc. could mean life or death.

I am so grateful to have had a chance to read this.