{"product_id":"couldnt-keep-it-to-myself-testimonies-from-our-imprisoned-sisters-isbn-9780060534295","title":"Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Lying next to and rising out of despair, hope permeates the book. Why, in the end, does Lamb want us to care about 10 women in prison? Perhaps because in noticing the humanity of others, we become more human ourselves.”—\u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eCouldn’t Keep It to Myself\u003c\/em\u003e once again shows Wally Lamb’s unmatched talent for finding the humanity in the lost and lonely. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the past several years Lamb has taught writing to women prisoners at the York Correctional Institution. With courage and candor, these women came to discover their voices, and to share tales of abuse, rejection, and their own self-destructive impulses. Yet these are stories of hope, humor, and the triumph of leaving victimhood behind to begin the process of healing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLamb’s powerful introduction describes the incredible, inspiring journey he and the women of York took through the writing process. \u003cem\u003eCouldn’t Keep It to Myself \u003c\/em\u003eis a true testament to the process of finding oneself and striving for a better day.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cblockquote\u003eWhat I hope is that people reading this book will bear in mind that we are human beings first, inmates second.\u003cbr\u003e--Bonnie Foreshaw\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a stunning new work of insight and hope, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author Wally Lamb once again reveals his unmatched talent for finding the humanity in the lost and lonely and celebrates the transforming power of the written word.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the past several years, Lamb has taught writing to a group of women prisoners at York Correctional Institution. At first mistrustful of Lamb, one another, and the writing process, over time these students let down their guard, picked up their pens, and discovered their voices. In this unforgettable collection, the women of York describe in their own words how they were imprisoned by abuse, rejection, and their own self-destructive impulses long before they entered the criminal justice system. Yet these are stories of hope, humor, and triumph in the face of despair. Having used writing as a tool to unlock their creativity and begin the process of healing, these amazing writers have left victimhood behind.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his powerful introduction, Lamb describes the incredible journey of expression and self-awareness the women took through their writings and shares how they challenged him as a teacher and as a fellow author. In \"Hair Chronicles,\" Tabatha Rowley tells her life history through her past hairstyles -- outer signals to the world each time she reinvented herself and eventually came to prize her own self-worth. Brenda Medina admits in \"Hell, and How I got Here\" that she continued to rebel in prison until her parents' abiding love made her realize that her misbehavior was hurting them and herself deeply. In \"Faith, Power, and Pants,\" Bonnie Foreshaw describes how faith has carried her through trials in life and in prison and has allowed her to understand her past actions, to look toward the future, and to believe that she will once again taste home cooking. \u003cem\u003eCouldn't Keep It to Myself\u003c\/em\u003e is a true testament to the process of finding oneself and working toward a better day.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"The 12 riveting, touching autobiographical accounts [of \u003cem\u003eCouldn’t Keep It to Myself\u003c\/em\u003e] look past the bars to lay bare lives that would normally have gone unheard.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Without resorting to pity or braggadocio, the stories detail the authors’ early lives, prison experiences, relationships with abusive husbands and partners in heartbreaking, inspiring detail. . . .The stories in\u003cem\u003e Couldn’t Keep It to Myself \u003c\/em\u003eare self-assured, deftly structured, and grippingly paced. Impressively, not one narrative comes across as an excuse or rationalization.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An intriguing and powerful collection.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The pieces are uniformly wrenching . . . . Yet they are as far from self-pity as possible. There are things, says Lamb, that need 'to be known about prison and prisoners. There are misconceptions to be abandoned, biases to be dropped.' Here’s a step in that direction.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lying next to and rising out of despair, hope permeates the book. Why, in the end, does Lamb want us to care about 10 women in prison? Perhaps because in noticing the humanity of others, we become more human ourselves.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889273401573,"sku":"NP9780060534295","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780060534295.jpg?v=1730230899","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/couldnt-keep-it-to-myself-testimonies-from-our-imprisoned-sisters-isbn-9780060534295","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}