Content Warnings: This is a nonfiction book that touches on: Police Violence, Drug Use, Death/Dismemberment, Violence, Trauma, etc.

All This Safety is Killing Us is an incredibly important and timely book, especially in the current climate. Through a powerful blend of data, personal anecdotes, interviews, and art, the authors effectively illuminate how systems meant to protect us—such as law enforcement, border control, and social services—are, in fact, perpetuating harm. The book delves into a range of critical issues, including the prison industrial complex, the war on drugs, border patrol, and even family protective services. By connecting these systems, it shows how they disproportionately impact marginalized communities, often in ways that were not originally intended.

One of the key strengths of this book is its nuanced approach. Rather than demonizing these institutions, it takes a step back to explore their origins. The authors trace the history behind each of these systems, showing how they were initially created with certain intentions—protection, order, and safety—but because of biases these systems have always been against the very populations they were meant to serve whilst using the propaganda of "order" so communities remain compliance. This historical context provides a deeper understanding of how these systems came to be and why they often fail to protect those who need help the most.

Additionally, the book places a strong emphasis on restorative justice as an alternative framework. Restorative justice seeks to repair harm through dialogue, understanding, and healing, as opposed to punitive measures. This is particularly important in today’s world, where we seem to be experiencing an "anti-empathy epidemic." With the pressures of economic hardship, such as inflation, and the difficulties posed by these institutional systems, people are increasingly looking out for themselves. In this context, the book underscores the necessity of building community, practicing empathy, and fostering solidarity, even during tough times. As the author wisely points out, while people will inevitably do wrong, the focus should be on finding ways to mitigate harm, not simply punish it.

However, the book is not without its critiques. The final chapter, while attempting to shed light on underrepresentation in medicine—specifically the lack of Black and Latine doctors—falls short in a few ways. In an effort to discuss this underrepresentation, the author touches on the model minority myth regarding the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community, suggesting that the AAPI community is overrepresented in the medical field. This assertion, though intended to highlight a disparity, inadvertently feeds into harmful stereotypes that don’t fully capture the nuances of this issue.

From my own experience working with an AAPI community health organization, I can attest that the reality is more complex. There are not as many AAPI doctors as one might assume, and language barriers due to forced assimilation create a shortage of providers who can effectively serve AAPI communities. Many AAPI individuals do not speak the languages of their parents or grandparents, which further exacerbates healthcare access issues. This gap in representation and accessibility should be addressed with more sensitivity, ensuring that all communities are represented accurately and without perpetuating oversimplified stereotypes.

In conclusion, All This Safety is Killing Us is a must-read, especially for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of modern systems of power and protection. It challenges readers to think critically about the unintended consequences of these systems and urges a shift toward restorative justice and community-based solutions. While the book provides a comprehensive analysis, it could have benefited from a more nuanced approach in its treatment of the AAPI community in the final chapter. Nonetheless, its broader message is one of profound importance, especially in today’s challenging socio-political landscape.

n All This Safety Is Killing Us, educators and health justice advocates Ronica Mukerjee and Carlos Martinez present a compelling critique of "carceral safety" systems, arguing for a transformative shift from reformist approaches to abolitionist practices rooted in grassroots organizing. Scheduled for release on April 15, 2025, this multi-disciplinary, multimedia guide delves into the intersections of healthcare, medicine, and systemic injustice.

The book features contributions from over ten incarcerated and post-detention activists, offering a platform for voices often marginalized in discussions about public safety and health. Through a combination of essays, artwork, and personal narratives, the authors expose how prisons, border security, and police forces—institutions purportedly designed to protect—frequently inflict harm on vulnerable communities. These groups include individuals with disabilities, Black and brown people, LGBTQ+ individuals, those with mental health diagnoses, and survivors of trauma and abuse. The authors contend that punitive carceral policies perpetuate physical, psychological, and intergenerational harm, failing to provide genuine safety for society.

Mukerjee and Martinez advocate for a radical departure from traditional reformist strategies, emphasizing the need for abolitionist frameworks that dismantle oppressive systems and build equitable alternatives. Their approach is informed by political strategy and evidence-based medical and social science research, envisioning a post-carceral society where health justice prevails.

All This Safety Is Killing Us is a thought-provoking and essential read for those interested in health justice, abolitionist movements, and the reimagining of public safety. By centering the experiences of those directly impacted by carceral systems, Mukerjee and Martinez offer a nuanced and actionable roadmap toward a more just and compassionate society.

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.