Runaways is a nonfiction study of a million teenagers who ran away from home. By focusing on the problems of 9 runaways it reveals the situation in an all too real way. Anais Nin wrote"This is an important book. Nowhere else have I seen the theme of the Runaways treated so thoroughly, honestly, unflinchingly. It is important because it offers suggestions for improving a tragic situation. To run away is no longer the romantic escape to join a circus, a sailing ship, to see other lands. It is the young, the vulnerable, exposed to all the dangers of a criminally inclined culture. It is painful to read."   Excerpt "The only real problem was the fact that the more money I made the more Indio and I spent on H. And after awhile we were spending about ninety dollars a day on the shit and I had to work whether I felt like it or not. On bad days when I didn't get enough calls from regular customers I even had to go out on corners.

Professional Reviews
Anais Nin in the Preface
Maryanne Raphael and Jenifer Wolf have been entrusted with the true story of the first impulse, the feelings, complete confessions. They have gone deeply into conditions and motivations. The individual portraits emerge vivid, in depth and complete. There is an awareness of the total problem, not just a segment of it. I feel that they understand the aspirations, the fantasies, the hungers and weakness of the young. The book is done with compassion but with a full knowledge of the extent, the enormity of the problem.


The study is remarkable, because while encompassing all the tragedies and horrors which threaten the runaways, it also registers what they hungered for, what they sought, dreamed, imagined. So you become award of how much they gambled, how much they sacrificed, The book seeks to state very clearly the needs, desires, wishes and expectations of the young which set them wandering. Written by Anais Nin, Preface of the book Runaways, America's Lost Youth

1974

Christian Science Monitor
The authors have recorded the harrowing experiences of some of the lost children including emotionally confused but valid testimony from current runaways and reflective insight from those who call on many years remembering. With understanding they show how young people with extremely different backgrounds share the same stark runaway experiences. They suggest ways to help young people stop wandering. Despite the provisions of the Runaway Youth Act discussed in full, the authors feel that changes in the laws can only be a "stopgap measure." The ultimate solution must come from an established family circle where children will be happy to live, not to leave."







Janet Domowitz, January 8, 1975

Library Journal
The authors, who have maintained a half-way house for runaways in New York CIty, approach the problem on a personal level, relating stories which are more than case studies of ten runaway youngstrs from different backgrounds. The kids portrayed here seem too old and sad to be what they are. children of 13 or ll years, street-wise or soon to become so, many of them addicts or streetwalkers, (one girl is even a porno queen at the tender age of 13).As Raphael and Wolf see it, these pathetic people are the victims of the legal system and the social climate of America today. A rather frightening look into a growing problem, the book is recommended for academic and large public libraries.

D J McColmann

December 1, 1974

Reader Reviews for "Runaways, America's Lost Youth By Maryanne Raphael & Jenifer Wolf"

Reviewed by Jim Dunlap	10/10/2003
C'est dommage. It's a tragedy, certainly, and you've done well to spotlight it.
Reviewed by Joyce Grubbe	3/11/2003
Runways is a realistic book describing what is happening to teenagers in this world today. Even though it was written sometime ago the stark reality it describes is even more real today. It is a textbook for children and their parents who don't realize the dangers that face a child who runs away. The more teenagers who read this book, the less who are tempted to runaway. I would advise anyone who feels a child they know might be thinking of leaving home on their own give them this book. You might save a life.

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