Nobody's Child

“A deeply moving tale of what happens when we ‘treat’ severe poverty and mental illness through the criminal justice system. Drawing on her firsthand experience and expertise with a modern-day insanity defense trial, Susan Vinocour writes like a novelist, showing us in riveting detail just how injustice operates.” – David Cole, national legal director, ACLU, and author of Engines of Liberty“As passionate as she is knowledgeable, Susan Vinocour brings humanity and dignity to telling the story of a woman whose voice we would otherwise never hear. Nobody’s Child wraps a powerful narrative, a thought-provoking reflection on truth and evidence, and a wake-up call about the law’s misunderstandings of mental illness into one unforgettable book.” – Susan Cheever, author of Drinking in America“In the age of the accelerated news cycle, the weaponization of outrage, and the easy rush to judgment, Nobody’s Child is a harrowing journey through our broken judicial system. Susan Vinocour’s expertise as a forensic psychologist—along with her humanity and literary talent—makes for a galvanizing read and, ultimately, a much-needed call for compassion.” – Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland“In this moving, well-researched account of the insanity defense…Vinocour does a fine job explaining the defense in layman’s terms. Sterling prose helps make this a page-turner.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Susan Vinocour is a retired clinical and forensic psychologist, a former prosecutor, and a former associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. She lives in Pittsford, New York.