An intimate first person non-fiction storytelling experience about incarceration in the United States
I thought about writing in my journal today, my place of refuge when I don’t want anyone to know my feelings.
I thought about the last few days.
And then the last few weeks.
And years…and decades…
And then I cried.
Continue reading “Thanksgiving Day 11/26/20”
On Friday, 13 November 2020, at 5:04pm I lost my brother and best friend. He had been hospitalized with a resistant bacterial infection that affected his heart, lungs, and blood. By the time doctors had isolated a possible culprit, it was too late. His organs began shutting down, and he lost detectable brain activity. In the end, my family made the decision to remove him from life support and end his suffering.
This is one of the hardest posts I’ve ever written. Those of us pulling long sentences know it’s only a matter of time before we lose loved ones. This is always at the back of my mind. It’s never far.
To Ponder
What builds you up?
What tears you down?
Where is our courage when we sit somewhat astound?
Taking in the various elements on noise and meaningless chatter. At moments it makes me think, what truly does matter?
It’s an everyday struggle to try to stay on the right path. A lot of people want to try to take you out of character and bring you down to their level. I personally decided that the day I got here, I would refuse to pick up new habits. I have no plans to make a career out of coming to prison. I came here to do my time, to become a better mother, sister and daughter, but most importantly a better person. There are plenty of opportunities to help us better ourselves and to help us to have a brighter future, but so many women are set in their ways. They come to prison and continue to maintain the lifestyle that they had at home, just in a more confined space.
Continue reading “The Lives Of Women Behind Bars (Pt.5): Of Girls & Women”