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August 13, 2025 55 mins

Direct From Seattle on this edition of the worldwide podcast, Rick Flynn Presents, is award-winning author CLAUDIA ROWE appearing in promotion of her new book "Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care."

“An immersive, devastating look at foster children’s lives.” (Seattle Times)

A compelling exploration of the broken American foster care system, told through the stories of six former foster youth. This powerful narrative nonfiction book delves into the systemic failures that lead many foster children into the criminal justice system, highlighting the urgent need for reform.

​This book is a must-read for anyone interested in child welfare, social justice, and the transformative power of the best narrative nonfiction.
In Wards of the State, award-winning journalist Claudia Rowe's storytelling is both vivid and unflinching, offering readers a deep understanding of the foster care-to-prison pipeline. Through interviews with psychologists, advocates, judges, and the former foster children themselves, Rowe paints a heartbreaking picture of the lives shaped by this broken system.
Rowe brings her extensive experience and investigative prowess to this eye-opening work. With a career spanning over 25 years, Rowe has written for publications such as The New York Times and Mother Jones, and her reporting has influenced policy changes in Washington State. Her previous book, The Spider and the Fly, was a gripping true-crime memoir that showcased her ability to blend personal narrative with broader social issues.

Claudia Rowe is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Mother Jones, and the Huffington Post. The author of the crime memoir The Spider and the Fly: A Reporter, a Serial Killer, and the Meaning of Murder, Rowe lives in Seattle.

Contact her at: www.ClaudiaRoweJournalist.com

Purchase this book wherever books are sold.





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