I have only watched a few episodes of season one of the Netflix breakout hit Orange Is The New Black. Before I dug in further I wanted to read the memoir.
I was surprised at all the differences right off but to be honest, as a former Corrections Officer, some of the things in the show are a bit unbelievable - even for me. The story starts at the beginning of the journey when Piper Kerman finds out she is being indicted for carrying a bag of drug money some ten years before. At first, it seems as though Piper places all the blame on Norah (Alex in the TV show) for her predicament and it was a bit infuriating. Placing the blame for your own crime, that you were not forced to commit, is juvenile and wrong. As the story goes on, my opinion of her initial reaction changes as she changes through her stay in each respective lock-up she is forced to endure.
I teared up a little bit when Piper goes through explaining the loss of her grandmother while incarcerated. I just keep thinking, "how would I even get through that?" But she did, because she had to. I thought her research into women in prison and touching upon the antiquated Rockefeller laws requiring severe lock up times for minor drug crimes and the little to no leeway a judge has on sentencing was spot on. Her anger was not from a place of avoiding punishment, but it came across more as coming from a place where she watched women suffer through repeat incarcerations for drug problems like addiction they can not break, and the justice system doing nothing to stop the issue from repeating. They provide little to no services to help the women returning to society after periods of incarceration. We cant break the cycle until we break the outdated and ridiculously resource draining Rockefeller mandates.
The book was good. I wish it would have went on to Piper's post release, her rejoining society, renewing her relationships and moving forward with her life. I hope leaving those portions out mean there will be another book in the future. The writing was good. I was never bored through the book. I just wanted a bit more at the end.
I was surprised at all the differences right off but to be honest, as a former Corrections Officer, some of the things in the show are a bit unbelievable - even for me. The story starts at the beginning of the journey when Piper Kerman finds out she is being indicted for carrying a bag of drug money some ten years before. At first, it seems as though Piper places all the blame on Norah (Alex in the TV show) for her predicament and it was a bit infuriating. Placing the blame for your own crime, that you were not forced to commit, is juvenile and wrong. As the story goes on, my opinion of her initial reaction changes as she changes through her stay in each respective lock-up she is forced to endure.
I teared up a little bit when Piper goes through explaining the loss of her grandmother while incarcerated. I just keep thinking, "how would I even get through that?" But she did, because she had to. I thought her research into women in prison and touching upon the antiquated Rockefeller laws requiring severe lock up times for minor drug crimes and the little to no leeway a judge has on sentencing was spot on. Her anger was not from a place of avoiding punishment, but it came across more as coming from a place where she watched women suffer through repeat incarcerations for drug problems like addiction they can not break, and the justice system doing nothing to stop the issue from repeating. They provide little to no services to help the women returning to society after periods of incarceration. We cant break the cycle until we break the outdated and ridiculously resource draining Rockefeller mandates.
The book was good. I wish it would have went on to Piper's post release, her rejoining society, renewing her relationships and moving forward with her life. I hope leaving those portions out mean there will be another book in the future. The writing was good. I was never bored through the book. I just wanted a bit more at the end.
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