Carissa Phelps is an attorney, a social entrepreneur, and a youth
advocate. She is CEO and founder of Runaway Girl, FPC, a California
flexible purpose corporation.
Larkin Warren's recent book collaborations include Mary Forsberg
Weiland's Fall to Pieces andElyn R. Saks's bestselling The Center
Cannot Hold.
Praise for Runaway Girl:
“This devastatingly honest memoir is not for the fainthearted . . .
Kafka famously wrote, ‘A book must be the ax for the frozen sea
within us.’ Runaway Girl just might become such a book. [Phelps]
gives the reader valuable insight into a problem that is larger
than most people realize.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Phelps is a success . . . [a] remarkable story.”
—NPR
“Carissa Phelps’s story illustrates the power each of us has to
speak the words that are the difference between life and death,
freedom and imprisonment, success and failure. Carissa is
brilliant. She’s changing our world for the better, not despite
what she’s been through, but specifically because of it.”
—Rhonda Sciortino, radio host of Crack the Code and author of
Succeed Because of What You’ve Been Through
“Riveting . . . A genuinely important book that casts the problem
of sex trafficking in America into stunning,
heartbreaking relief.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Runaway Girl may break your heart but I promise it will ultimately
awe and inspire you. No child should have to endure what Carissa
did, but thousands do. Her story is a testimony to the resilience
of these children and the difference a caring individual can make
in their lives. If you have any doubts whether one person can make
a difference in the life of a traumatized, ‘delinquent,’ young
person, Runaway Girl should put them to rest.”
—Dr. Howard Zehr, professor of restorative justice, Eastern
Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and
author of What Will Happen to Me?
“Runaway Girl demonstrates a great amount of insight and
maturity. Crisp writing and perfectly chosen events highlight the
story of what happens to the majority of twelve-year-olds on the
street.”
—School Library Journal, selected as a Best Adult Books for Teens
of the Year
“As a captivating account of the triumph of a battered heart,
Runaway Girl is truly a modern profile in courage, a spiritual
odyssey, and a riveting read. Any child who experienced the trauma
that Carissa Phelps so poignantly portrays will gain comfort,
encouragement, and hope in reading this book.”
—Paul Freese, Public Counsel Law Center
“A brave memoir.”
—Publishers Weekly
“What happens to the thousands of kids every year in the United
States who are forced to leave home? Many of them are find
themselves in the same situation Carissa Phelps did: fallen between
the cracks in foster care and forced by a vicious exploiter to walk
the streets. With courage, insight, and unflinching honesty,
Carissa reveals the truth about her life as a runaway, bringing to
light the many issues facing homeless youth while providing them
with a beacon of hope to follow. I want everyone who cares about
our country’s young people to read this book.”
—Janice Erlbaum, author of Girlbomb
“This book is provocative in the best sense of the word: it incites
readers to help. . . . Runaway Girl is an effective, socially aware
book that offers unique insight into one woman’s personal
experiences with trauma and recovery and her journey to find
herself in a difficult, frightening, and ultimately supportive
world.”
—Katie Shaeffer, BookshelfBombshells.com
“With not a trace of victimhood or unplaced drama, this is a
terrific addition to all collections."
—Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, Juvenile Hall, CA
“Runaway Girl should be required reading for anyone with kids,
especially girls, in their lives.”
—Jesika Long, Jesikalong.Tumblr.com
“Runaway Girl is both a cautionary tale about the realities of
sex-trafficking in the U.S. and an inspirational story of the
change that is possible with the help of others. A very important
read for both parents and teenagers.”
—Vera Pereskokova, SheKnows.com
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