ABSTRACT
Raymond’s mother, Sylvia, was raised in a poor neighborhood. When she was 13 years old the city condemned the apartment building she lived in because it was old and filled with lead-based paint. Sylvia became pregnant with Raymond when she was 16. Raymond’s father, Gus, was 22 years old and had been in and out of juvenile detention centers for much of his teen years. He left the city soon after Raymond was born and was convicted of murder in California. Sylvia had used cigarettes and marijuana since she was 14, and continued to smoke during most of her pregnancy.
