Book In Review

     Have you ever read a book that was filled with so much introspection that you felt as if you were invading the writer’s right to privacy?  At first I felt that way while reading; Orange Is The New Black-My Year In A Women’s Prison; then, I decided to experience the book in a manner in which I felt that it was written.  I believe it was written in such a way as to educate, inspire, encourage and to challenge those who read it to understand that everyone who goes to prison is human and has value.

      Often I think society tends to think of those in prison as people who are unworthy of consideration; after all, they did the crime and they must do the time, right?  Lock ’em up and throw away the key until they have served their time, right?  Well, part of that is true in the sense that criminal behavior must have consequences otherwise we would become a world of continual chaos with little accountability for our behaviors.  However, what many people dismiss or never even consider is that there are so many layers of issues that cause a person to do the things that they do to find themselves in the position of becoming incarcerated at all.  Not everyone who ends up in prison is hopeless or unworthy of a future of freedom; even though there are some prisoners who should not again be turned loose on society.

        Then, also consider this…for each person incarcerated; there is a mother/father/sister/brother/son/daughter/aunt/uncle/cousin/grandparent/                         friend/neighbor, etc who is affected by what takes place when a person they care about enters the prison system.

         A prisoner’s world is turned upside down when their basic freedoms are taken from them.  Rules and expectations are different; and relationships must be forged with strangers out of necessity, in what is probably the most stressful time in that person’s life, just to be able to survive their prison term.  Fear, frustration and anger are part of the package as well as loneliness and shame.  How a person chooses to proceed can affect the rest of their life.  Do they keep former relationships alive or close off to those people who knew them before prison?  Should they form friendships with other prisoners or try to be invisible?  How long is their prison term and how do they best navigate all of the changes in their life once they  have been convicted?

          It is no small thing to maintain a relationship with someone who is behind bars.  After all, there are limited opportunities to visit in person, talk on the phone, exchange letters with one another.  Add to that, someone has to “hold down the fort” no matter how long that person is jailed.  Life never stops changing and that includes children who grow up, people within relationships with the prisoner who become ill, pass away, or are hospitalized.  Don’t forget the financial hardship on innocent family members who must struggle to maintain a place to live, jobs, child rearing, pay legal fees, and handle all things pertinent to paying the bills and helping everyone “left behind” as they struggle with the emotional implications of having a loved one incarcerated.

        I think Piper Kerman does a fine job of shining a light on all of these facets of life, and more, when a person is convicted of a crime.  Of course her book is about her experience as she went through the system.  How decisions she made as a young women impacted her future with her friends, family and future mate.  The shame, the frustration, the acceptance of her fate as well as her determination to make the best of the prison time by learning what she could from the experience and turning it into a personal development of sorts.

         While her journey into this phase of her life is not something I would recommend to a person searching for a deeper understanding of the criminal justice system and it’s impact on American society; I would recommend this book to anyone who wants, or needs, to know how to navigate the most challenging shock to the loss of freedom when they or a loved one is facing a prison term.

          Piper’s book is the next best thing for learning from the experience besides having to go through it personally.  I think it is an eye- opening book, and one definitely worth reading.  I will warn you that there is some rough language in places…however, because of the nature of the book; I would expect most people could understand the context of it’s use.  This book will challenge you to think about how you view the prison system and those who are a part of it. 

             You can learn more about Piper here on her website: http://piperkerman.com/ and her book was published , in 2010, by Spiegel and Grau, which is an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group.