When author C.P. Handler spoke about the boys she worked with in Ohio’s juvenile justice system, she remembered the basketball games, the laughter and the songs they shared. She also described abuse within institutions entrusted with their care. Both experiences shaped her memoir, The Light Within the Walls. On Episode 42 of The Miami Book Hub, I welcomed Handler, a Miami-based clinical social worker whose work has included juvenile facilities and crisis intervention in a South Florida jail. Our mutual friend, publisher Tabitha Rose of Life to Paper, helped bring her story to readers. Early in her career, Handler worked with a boy referred for anger management who had lost both parents and another caregiver. Addressing his trauma, she said, helped his aggression subside. That experience drew her toward working with incarcerated teenagers, where she hoped to reach other young people carrying similar pain. Handler entered juvenile corrections eager to help young people recover from trauma. What she encountered, she told me, was an environment that often inflicted more harm. She described retaliation for advocating for the boys, as well as the grief of losing former clients after their release. Yet she kept returning to the young people themselves. Many wanted to write books about their lives. She wanted to help their stories reach people with the power to change the system. “I wanted to be that voice for them. I wanted to honor them,” she said. Her work began with something familiar to anyone who has tried to reach a teenager: earning trust. “So the first thing I did was build a relationship with them,” she explained. That meant spending time together, using humor and making room for them to talk about grief and violence. “I learned more about therapy in five minutes than I’ve ever known in my entire life,” I told her. As an urban planner, I also wanted to explore what her experience could teach us about addressing untreated trauma here in Miami. In a city shaped by migration and exile, I wondered aloud how the trauma of fleeing one’s homeland might linger long after arrival, and how we could better recognize that pain and help our neighbors heal. Our conversation became especially personal when we turned to her own recovery. Handler first tried to write the book in 2015, but revisiting those years was overwhelming. After intensive trauma treatment, she was able to write it in 2024. She spoke candidly about once believing she was permanently damaged by those experiences. “I no longer believe I’m permanently damaged,” she said. Her account of that recovery gives the book’s title a personal meaning, too. “And was the book one of the ways in which you healed?” I asked. She described the relief of having her story received with care by her publisher, editor and readers. Writing mattered; being heard helped her continue healing. “The writing was good, but the process after is what has helped me continue to evolve,” she said. That hit. The empathy she offered those boys was also something she needed herself. She hopes the book will reach policymakers who can help change conditions for young people in custody. For readers, it offers a chance to hear stories that might otherwise remain behind those walls. Visit CPHandler.com to learn more about Handler and The Light Within the Walls, and explore her resources page for organizations you can support. Watch our full conversation and subscribe to the podcast and newsletter at TheMiamiBookHub.com, Miami’s Home for Readers, Writers Resources. Please like, share and subscribe.  Until next time… keep reading, keep writing and stay curious, Miami! The post Finding the Light Within the Walls appeared first on Miami’s Community News. ...read more read less