FIVE-FINGER DISCOUNT: A CROOKED FAMILY HISTORY

AUTHOR: HELENE STAPINSKIBY: KAYLA WRIGHT

INFO ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Born in 1965 • Baby Plays Around: A Love Affair, With Music

• Written for The New York Times, People, & New York magazine• She now lives in Brooklyn

HELENE

BOOK SUMMARY

• Love-Hate relationship with her family & Jersey City• Starts out when she is 5 years old• Stories about growing up in Jersey City • Criminal family • Jersey City’s political corruption

HELENE AS A CHILD

HELENE’S LIFE

• Jersey City, New Jersey• There has not been any evidence that shows that early

exposure to neighborhood crime will cause long term criminal behavior in a person (Damm & Dustman, 2014). • Helene’s grandfather “Beansie”• The Majestic tavern

HELENE’S LIFE

• “Swag” from the cold storage company where her dad worked• Free toothpaste & soap from the Colgate Factory• Swag wasn’t the same thing as stealing.• Jersey City had an unwritten rule that you could take as many

goods as you could carry from your job

HELENE’S LIFE

• Reporter- The Jersey Journal

• As a young adult, Helene was a risk-taker.• Having an unpredictable childhood may have an impact on risk-taking

(Thomson & Hill, 2002)• She gave up her job at the Jersey Journal to go all the way to Alaska

for a radio job. She was tired of Jersey City and needed something new. After Helene had enough of Alaska, she returned home and enrolled in a University for fine arts

WHY DIDN’T SHE TURN OUT BAD?

• Criminal behavior tends to run in families (Van de Rakt, Nieuwbeerta, & Apel, 2009)• She could have easily just become another unlawful Stapinski• Helene was able to overcome the difficulties of her childhood,

which shows that she is resilient

RESILIENCE

• Having an alcoholic father increased her resilience• The younger the child is, the more vulnerable they are to their

alcoholic parent• The less parent responsibilities that the child has to take on, the

higher chance of resilience (Park & Scheep, 2015)• She saw the life of her family and the impact of committing crimes.• She learned that she did not want any part of it.

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