Chronicles the author's life inside juvenile corrections facilities, and offers an expose of the system's corruption

I Cried, You Didn't Listen: A Survivor's Expose of California Youth Authority

Biographies & Memoirs

Abbott, Dwight Edgar

Carter, Jack

Historical

Feral House

"I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS THE MOST POWERFUL TALE OF HORROR WITHIN THE WALLS OF PENAL INSTITUTIONS SINCE 'PAPILLON.' THE TERRIFYING ASPECT IS THAT IT DESCRIBES AMERICA'S JUVENILE SYSTEM" - Alden Mills, ARETE MAGAZINE "THE AUTHOR'S WELL-WRITTEN STORY COMES AT THE READER FAST AND FURIOUSLY; SHOCKING READERS INTO AN AWARENESS OF THE INHUMANITY OF AMERICA'S JUVENILE PENAL INSTITUTIONS."- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "I CRIED, YOU DIDN'T LISTEN IS A POWERFUL INDICTMENT OF A SYSTEM THAT MAY HAVE LOST TRACK OF ITS PURPOSE."- Don Davis, THE SAN DIEGO UNION An early Winner of the "Project Censored" Award of Excellence"; I Cried, You Didn't Listen is a powerful story. It is shocking, haunting and brutal. Although it is a rare and valuable document, what is exceptional is not Dwight Abbott's experience, but his clarity and courage in sharing that experience. Dwight tells the disturbing tale of a very young child, first committed to the care of the state because of family tragedy and bad luck. Once institutionalized, he must learn to live within the cruel dynamics of a system that grants power through violence and leaves children at the mercy of predatory adults. He is continually faced with the need to choose between dehumanizing options: Be predator or be prey. Even in Dwight's description of racialist violence we see the effect that the social system has had on him – cementing stereo-types and prejudices that become self-fulfilling prophesy.
 Dwight's account is terrifying. Upon reading it, one must recognize that, faced with the stark choice between victimizing another and being a victim oneself, the morals and values that make sense in freedom fall away. Perpetrating violence appears as the best option for self-preservation. This is the fundamental dynamic at work in Dwight's institutional life. I Cried, You Didn't Listen shows that, within incarcerating institutions, violence in all its forms – sexual assault, cliques, crews, gangs, emotional abuse – is essentially about power and control both over and above one’s own sense of self. -Books not Bars "THIS IS A SEARINGLY HONEST BOOK - READ IT IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE. DWIGHT EDGAR ABBOTT'S STORY WILL REVEAL MORE ABOUT THE SELF-FUELING HORRORS OF INCARCERATION THAN WOULD TEN OF THE AVERAGE CRIMINOLOGY TEXTS. FOR YEARS THIS BOOK HAS CIRCULATED AS AN ALMOST CULT UNDERGROUND DOCUMENT, A SIMPLE KEY TO EXPLAINING THE COMPLEX WRETCHED MESS THAT IS THE AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM." - Christian Parenti; American investigative journalist; writer of many widely published articles and author of: "LOCKDOWN AMERICA," "THE SOFT CAGE" AND "THE FREEDOM." "SADLY, DWIGHT'S EXPERIENCE ECHOES THE STORIES OF THE THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE STILL WAREHOUSED AND DEHUMANIZED IN CALIFORNIA, BUT ALSO SERVES POWERFUL TESTAMENT TO THE NEED FOR A 180 DEGREE SHIFT IN HOW WE DEAL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN TROUBLE." - Van Jones, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ELLA BAKER CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

I Cried, You Didn't Listen: A First Person Look at a Childhood Spent Inside CYA Youth Detention Systems (Innocent Until 'Made' Guilty)

Kroll, Mike

Abbott, Dwight

True Crime

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

"CONSEQUENCE": the aftermath is the sequel to "I Cried, You Didn't Listen". It is the story of the 'few' incarcerated children who 'survived' the California Youth Authority's 'Training camps'; only to become societies 'worst nightmares'. It is the 'sunset' of life for those who were: "Innocent until 'Made' Guilty".

CONSEQUENCE: the aftermath: Sequel to "I Cried, You Didn't Listen"

Abbott, Dwight (Sonny)

Kröll, Michael

This book is a collection of experiences remembered; both in and out of Prison. By Project Censored Award Winning Author: Dwight Abbott.About the cover; he writes:"This morning, I sat and pictured in my mind a place I often went to, when I was being hunted; a place I knew well enough to feel safe; where I could be alone. During those days, I was convinced a time would come I'd to go there to lick my wounds and die. When you look at this book cover, imagine me straddling the fallen tree there at the bottom, looking out over my domain; rifle propped nearby. I would cook food from my meager supplies; on the nearest tip of land forming the first inlet on your right. At night, I would roll out my sleeping bag and sleep near the dying embers; maybe to "awake" - Free at last! This book IS; my Wrap!" Dwight Abbott, 12/24/2009" "It's a Wrap" contains:Story one: Titled: "Christmas Memories"; (6 pages) written by Dwight Abbott, is about a Christmas never to be forgotten.Story two: Titled "Parole, a Parody" (6 pages) written by Dwight upon exiting the gates of San Quentin Prison.Story three: Titled "Billy" - A Never Dying Story - (28 pages) was written by Myself, Skippy, and Sonny; as told to us by our dad; Dwight Abbott senior. It is a true story about an animal attack in a southern California desert.Story four: Titled Dwight and Dwight Go AWOL" (22 pages) Is about Sonny' dad's' famous escape from Folsom Prison using Bed Dummies. It also includes news clippings of both my dad and brothers escapes from Prisons.Story five: Titled: "Brother Bear" - The Bear Necessities". (21 pages)This story was written by Dwight, about a year spent homeless in the mountains of Shasta County above Jones Valley, Silverthorn Resort & Marina at Shasta Lake. This story inspired the cover of "It's a Wrap!" He found himself snowed in and 'one' with many forest creatures.Story six: Titled "Convict and the Gopher: a Tail of Trust" by Dwight Abbott. It is a short introduction and story (45 pages); including illustrations of Sonny's adopted Gopher, Popcorn. Popcorn was Sonny's adopted "cellie" for Popcorn's entire life of 4.5 years. One must wonder what type of relationship might develop between the "most dangerous" of criminals and a Gopher; both, at first, reluctant to trust each other. This question will be answered in "Convict and the Gopher; a Tail of Trust." This story will enlighten all readers as to the forever 'lost humanity' of imprisoned convicts, who yet retain a hidden 'tenderness' that must forever remain hidden and unexplained; not only to the general prison population; but to an outside society that can not and/or will not give them 'another chance.' Story Seven: Titled "My Affair with the Warden" ( 50 pages) was written by Sonny (Dwight Abbott) while in 'Deep SEG' at OSP (Oregon State Prison). This Story is somewhat graphic and may be deemed 'parental reading only' for youngsters; although the Story line is totally appropriate for anyone who loves animals.Sonny has also asked Skippy to add his:"The Rock" & "The Jacket"Sonny further writes:Fact is, if you feed a starving animal, it is unlikely he will bite you. That, dear Family, is the principle difference between them and man. Once I was told I am an "animal"; yet, always I've known I am much worse - I am human."R.I.P. PopcornDwight Edgar AbbottCalifornia Health Care Facility, Stockton, Ca.The above quote was written below the drawing of Popcorn that introduces this short story. The story and drawing was produced from actual experience of my brother, Dwight Abbott (aka, Sonny).Dwight is serving four life terms in The California Health Facility at Stockton. He was transferred from Salinas Valley State Prison; level IV, as his recent paralysis left him paralyzed; in a wheel chair; and foolishly considered: "No longer an Escape Risk"? He is already an accomplished author. His credits include the books: "I Cried You Didn't Listen" and "CONSEQUENCE": the aftermath.

Its a Wrap: Final Stories of Dwight Edgar Abbott; Author of "I Cried, You Didn't Listen" & "CONSEQUENCE the aftermath". (Innocent until "Made" Guilty)

Abbott, Danny & Terry

"The author's well-written story comes at the reader fast and furiouslyshocking readers into an awareness of the inhumanity of America's juvenile penal institutions."-Publishers Weekly At age nine, a family tragedy forced Dwight Abbott into the California Youth Authority. This is the chilling chronicle of his life behind bars-a story of brutality and survival, a dark journey showing how the systematic abuse of incarcerated children creates a cycle of criminal behavior that usually ends with prison or death. Dwight Edgar Abbott, in and out of prison since childhood, is serving multiple life sentences in Salinas Valley State Prison.

I Cried, You Didn't Listen: A Survivor's Expose of the California Youth Authority

AK Press

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