Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx

Set during the War on Drugs, this book is a chronicle of one family's experiences in the South Bronx during the 1990s. Journalist Adrian Nicole LeBlanc began her reporting in 1989 when she met Jessica, a young mother whose life was about to be altered by the criminal justice system. This encounter led LeBlanc to move beyond typical crime narratives and instead document the lives of women and children affected by poverty. The book follows Jessica, her family, and her circle of friends through their daily struggles and moments of hope. LeBlanc traces three generations as they navigate the tension between hope and deprivation. Rather than relying on statistics, the work presents an intimate account of how families form and sustain themselves, told through the interconnected stories of real people living through this period in American history.