Family Activism in the Aftermath of Fatal Violence

Elizabeth A. Cook is a Lecturer in the Violence and Society Centre at City, University of London. Previously, she worked at the Universities of Oxford and Manchester. She researches in the areas of family, family activism and fatal violence.

• Part One: Personal Troubles 1.Concept and Emergence of Family Activism 2.Trauma 3.Recovery and Repair Part Two: Public Issues 4.Rebuilding Family and Community 5.Maternal Grief and Activism 6.The Public Significance of Family Activism

Elizabeth Cook displays her colours early with reference to C. Wright Mills and her Family Activism in the Aftermath of Fatal Violence is itself a splendid example of his notion of the sociological imagination. Mothers Against Violence, a small, activist, Manchester group whose members were shaken by the impact of gun violence, serves as a prism through which she can observe the fused workings of bereavement, ethnicity, kinship, gender, matriarchy, ideas of justice, ideas of community, conceptions of moral purpose (often mediated by a sense of Christian mission), attempts to memorialise the dead and much else. It is thoughtful, sophisticated, compelling and highly accessible. So many voluntary organisations arise and disappear without trace, not much studied and dimly understood, and it is providential that she has so ably captured the life-world of one such group in its prime.Paul Rock, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of EconomicsThis important and original book explores how the effects of fatal violence reverberate through kin and community ties. Using careful qualitative fieldwork and detailed interviews with those bereaved by gun violence, the author explores what families in this unenviable position do with their circumstances and how the family can serve as a site of resistance and activism. It is very well written and convincingly argued and draws the reader into a deep consideration of these processes. The book makes an important contribution to the academic study of fatal violence and its aftermath, victims, families, and the broader fields of crime, justice, and punishment. This excellent book is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the wider repercussions of crime and victimisation and how they endure in people’s lives. Rachel Condry, Professor of Criminology, University of Oxford