My Year in a Women’s Prison; A Review
Recently, I ran over to my local Toronto Public Library branch to check out Orange Is The New Black; My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman. What a lot people might not know, is that Orange is the New Black is based on a true story. Of course, Piper Kerman only spent about a year in prison, compared to the show which took place in a prison over the span of seven seasons.
The book came out in 2010, and contained themes (and the dead name of Caitlin Jenner) that might not be used today, but still provided a deep, intellectual context on what life inside prison is really like.
I was surprised by Kerman’s vulnerability and honesty in this novel. As some of you might have read, I wrote a review on the tv show 60 Days In, which showed a group of people who go undercover as inmates inside a prison to expose potential corruption behind bars. I found there to be some vast differences between that show and Kerman’s experience behind bars. Worth taking into consideration is the fact that inmates in 60 Days In were being filmed for the duration of the experiment, and Kerman purposefully changed some details about the people she was interacting with behind bars to protect the privacy of her fellow inmates.
I believe that this is a great book to read if you wish to learn more about the inner workings of the American prison system, particularly in relation to how women are treated behind bars. Many women behind bars experience abuse and neglect, which as we now, raises the recidivism rate considerably.
Kerman’s writing is honest and open. She opens with a really detailed account of the crimes she committed and how she got involved. In my opinion, she did a great job of acknowledging the error of her ways (which she was probably already aware of when she was sentenced).
Notably, Kerman was convicted and sentenced ten years after her actual crime took place. She spent a whole ten years living a clean life, free of crime. It was safe to say that she had changed and was unlikely to offend again. This begs the question; why would we put her into a system that would increase her chances of re offending? Just because we want to punish people? This system is not creating a better society. Prison does not create more well rounded individuals, it creates mental health issues. It neglects the health and wellbeing of every single person who walks through its doors. The prison system is modern slavery, which inevitably puts a huge strain on our affected friends, family, neighbours and healthcare system.
It’s time for a change. It’s time for our government to start investing in social services that actually benefit our communities.
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