Quiet Desperation: The Effects of Competition in School on Abused and Neglected Children

I must admit, however, that I lost some sleep one night and felt extreme sadness feeling the pain of those Dr. Neal describe experiencing child abuse. But, it was a gift to have gone through this. My life has been altered in ways that I don”t know at this point because of the experience of reading Quiet Desperation. I needed to be taken out of my comfort zone. Those who read this will probably undergo a similar experience, THANK GOD! — Dale Brubaker, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, author of The Charismatic Leader: The Presentation of the Self and the Creation of Edu

Dr. Neal”s writing touched me in that place that I was touched so many years ago when I decided to make child abuse prevention my life”s work. The images he describes are accurate, poignant, and so insightful. I kept thinking that every teacher should be required to read this book so that he or she can get in touch again with the motivations and yearnings that made them select this field of work. We thank him for bringing so much of himself to the task of writing the book and for being a powerful voice for vulnerable children. — Jetta Bernier, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Citizens for Children, MA Chapter, Prevent Child Abuse America