What Happened in the Woodshed: The Secret Lives of Battered Children and a New Profession to Protect Them

What Happened in the Woodshed: The Secret Lives of Battered Children and a New Profession to Protect Them

What Happened in the Woodshed: The Secret Lives of Battered Children and a New Profession to Protect Them

What Happened in the Woodshed: The Secret Lives of Battered Children and a New Profession to Protect Them

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Overview

A riveting exposé of child abuse in America and how the newest breed of pediatricians determines what happened, why, and at whose hands.

Although more than one million children are abused each year in the United States, child abuse often remains a secret to family members, professionals, and politicians who neither see nor understand it. Child abuse pediatricians are the newest breed of pediatricians, specialized in exposing abuse. With detective-like acumen, child abuse pediatricians deduce through careful medical analysis who has abused and who has been abused. Describing the most compelling cases among the thousands that they have evaluated, author Lawrence Ricci reveals the trauma, pain, disability, and sometimes death that abused children experience at the hands of trusted adults.

This gripping look at the dark side of American families is about good parents and poor ones, perpetrators and victims, and collateral victims such as innocent family members. It is also about the professionals who have made it their career to expose child abuse and to treat children who have suffered from it. The conclusion calls for systematic changes that could help to stem the tide of child abuse.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781440856365
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 03/14/2018
Pages: 192
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Lawrence R. Ricci, MD, is clinical professor of pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine, and an active member of the medical staff of The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center.

Table of Contents

Foreword Stephen Ludwig, MD xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Prologue: Danny: What Happened in the woodshed? xv

Introduction: The Secret Lives of Battered Children xvii

Chapter 1 The Making of a Child Abuse Pediatrician and the Birth of a New Specialty 1

Chapter 2 Mistakes: It Could Be Anyone 19

Chapter 3 Down the Rabbit Hole with Baron Munchausen 33

Chapter 4 The Hidden Ravages of Neglect 47

Chapter 5 Child Abuse Fatalities: The Anatomy of Death 63

Chapter 6 Failure to Protect: The Taking of Justice 79

Chapter 7 A Parent's Grief: Pam and Benji 93

Chapter 8 The Courtroom: Triumph of Style over Substance 105

Chapter 9 Vicarious Trauma: "How Can You Do This Work?" 121

Chapter 10 The Future of Our Children: Child Abuse Prevention in America and Internationally 137

Epilogue: Strider: What Happened in the Woodshed! 149

Appendix: Child Abuse Doctors Who Shared Their Stories 153

References 159

Index 165

What People are Saying About This

John Connolly


"A fascinating, shocking, moving, and ultimately uplifting work. While we may be tempted to despair at the harm that adults are prepared to inflict on the children in their care, the compassion, fortitude, and integrity of the expert physicians involved in protecting young people should give us hope. What Happened in the Woodshed is essential reading for parents, educators, medical professionals—indeed, anyone who cares about the welfare of our young people. In other words, this is a book for all of us."

Richard J. Gelles


"What Happened in the Woodshed is a unique and valuable addition to our understanding of child maltreatment. I cannot think of another book that provides the compelling and insightful perspective Lawrence R. Ricci captures in his presentation of how physicians recognize, respond to, and cope with the maltreatment of children."

David Finkelhor


"These are fascinating and wrenching accounts from the pioneers on the front lines of one of our most challenging child welfare problems. Great book."

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