Life Interrupted: Trafficking into Forced Labor in the United States

Life Interrupted introduces us to survivors of human trafficking who are struggling to get by and make homes for themselves in the United States. Having spent nearly a decade following the lives of formerly trafficked men and women, Denise Brennan recounts in close detail their flight from their abusers and their courageous efforts to rebuild their lives. At once scholarly and accessible, her book links these firsthand accounts to global economic inequities and under-regulated and unprotected workplaces that routinely exploit migrant laborers in the United States. Brennan contends that today's punitive immigration policies undermine efforts to fight trafficking. While many believe trafficking happens only in the sex trade, Brennan shows that across low-wage labor sectors-in fields, in factories, and on construction sites-widespread exploitation can lead to and conceal forced labor. Life Interrupted is a riveting account of life in and after trafficking and a forceful call for meaningful immigration and labor reform.

All royalties from this book will be donated to the nonprofit Survivor Leadership Training Fund administered through the Freedom Network.


Author: Denise Brennan
Publisher: Duke University Press
Published: 03/18/2014
Pages: 289
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.16h x 6.01w x 0.67d
ISBN: 9780822356332

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2014
Foreword 02/27/2014
Choice 10/01/2014 pg. 302

About the Author

Denise Brennan is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Georgetown University. She is the author of What's Love Got to Do with It? Transnational Desires and Sex Tourism in the Dominican Republic, also published by Duke University Press.