Drawing on trauma and memory studies and theories of authorship and readership, Contesting Childhood offers commentary on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations that have shaped this genre. Douglas examines the content of the narratives and the limits of their representations, as well as some of the ways in which autobiographies of youth have become politically important and influential. This study enables readers to discover how stories configure childhood within cultural memory and the public sphere.

Introduction
Chapter 1 Creating Childhood
Chapter 2 Consuming Childhood
Chapter 3 Authoring Childhood
Chapter 4 Scripts for Remembering
Chapter 5 Scripts for Remembering
Chapter 6 Ethics
Chapter 7 The Ethics of Reading
Conclusion Writing Childhood in the Twenty-First Century
Notes
Bibliography
Index