In 2003 author Wally Lamb published a collection of essays by the students in his writing workshop at the maximum-security York Correctional Institution, Connecticut's only prison for women. Writing, Lamb discovered, was a way for these women to confront painful memories, face their fears and their failures, and begin to imagine better lives. One critic described the book as "gut-tearing tales ... the unvarnished truth." In this new volume, twenty women--eighteen inmates and two of Lamb's cofacilitators--share the experiences that shaped them from childhood and that haunt and inspire them to this day. These portraits, vignettes, and stories depict with soul-baring honesty how and why women land in prison--and what happens once they get there. The storiesare as varied as the individuals who wrote them, but each testifies to the same core truth: the universal value of knowing oneself and changing one's life through the power of the written word.--From publisher description.A second collection of writings from the members of the author's program in Connecticut's York Correctional Facility features pieces by twenty women who describe the experiences that shaped their lives as well as the lessons they have learned about the power of the written word. Read Less