The Prisoner's Wife: A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: A good recommendation
Review: Saw her the other day at a DC book reading. Intrigued then to buy and read her book. Still in the process now. I like it. It is definitely causing me to think before I write off people in prison as complete criminals, as people who lose the privilege to be treated like humans since I figured they stole someone else's humanity to have ended up behind bars. Thinking twice about it now.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: Anyone who does not think that Asha Bandele's the prisoners wife is an excellent book could only think so if they truly can not relate to a word she wrote. For me I related to most of the circumstance she wrote about and I was truly touched. I think that Asha is a wonderful writer and her words flowed off of the pages of the book right into my head and my heart. I love the book and her writing has inspired me to write. I think this is an excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: It gave me the courage/comfort to know I am not alone.
Review: Asha and Rashid could very well be L and A with a few minor changes. I read the excerpt last Wednesday in Essence, I cried and immediately got on the net to purchase the book. It arrived Monday, I devoured it. Wednesday I was mailing it to my love so that he could read it. Her use of language is beautiful her honesty compelling. My love is due to be released in two weeks, though my waiting period has only been 2 1/2 years, I still related to all of the feelings described. I hope and pray that Rashid comes home to Asha in 2003. It made me feel blessed to know someone truly understands all the feelings I have. It reaffirmed what I know to be true, people can change and true love is beautiful regardless of where it is found!

Rating:
Summary: great concept; terrible book
Review: After reading some many reviews on this book, I decided to rush out and buy it. Big mistake!! While I do feel that the author has great intentions and a good story to tell, she spends way too much time repeating the same things and never really gets to the "meat" of the story. I struggled through 60 pages and said "enough already". My advice? Save your money and just read the book excerpt from the June issue of Essence.

Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK IS AN ISPIRATION TO WOMEN IN THE SAME CATAGORY
Review: THIS BOOK HAS TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT BEING PATIENCE. I AM IN THE SAME SITUATION AS ASHA. MY HUSBAND HAS 4 YEARS TO DO AND I EXPERIENCE THE SAME THINGS AS SHE HAS EXPERIENCED. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A BOOK LIKE THIS AND I AM SO GLAD THAT SHE HAD THE COURAGE TO WRITE ABOUT HER LIFE. I AM NOT A BOOK READER. EVENTHOUGH I AM A CLERK AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BOOKS DON'T SEEM TO INTEREST ME BUT THIS BOOK HAS SHOWED ME THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF WOMEN OUTHERE THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THINGS. THANK YOU ASHA FOR WRITING THIS BOOK. RIGHT NOW I'M TRYING TO FIND THIS BOOK SO I COULD HAVE MY OWN COPY SINCE THE BOOK THAT I READ WAS THE LIBRARIES BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: If your man is in prison and you feel alone, this is 4 U!
Review: I have only read a small portion of the book via 'Essence' magazine, but it moved me to tears. My fiance' is in prison, and I can relate to people not understanding to why I am sticking by him. I often wished that there was someone that I could communicate with who can relate with what I am going through. Thanks to Mrs. Bandele's book, I feel as though I can.

Rating:
Summary: from Emerge magazine
Review: "asha bandele is telling a love story that's 'not generally discussed in polite or even public conversation,' one that's 'polyester...man-made, trying to be pretty, not quite making it.' It's a story of mango-scented baths, white candles and sandalwood incense with Nina Simone singing in the background. It's also a story of strip searches, metal detectors and conjugal visits in a trailer....It's hard not to root for someone who's snatched some true happiness from the jaws of a nightmare. bandele's memoir is filled with the kind of bare-knuckled writing that marks her poetry collection, ABSENCE IN THE PALMS OF MY HANDS & OTHER POEMS. More than just a love story....bandele wisely refuses to give us a happily ever after. Instead, she gives us something more: a love story that's 'a living, breathing document, a living witness.'"

Rating:
Summary: From Booklist, starred review
Review: asha bandele's "writing soars with emotion. And the reader's emotions soar as well, not because of a shared experience but because her highly polished and skillful writing makes one feel her pain and joy. This is a romantic but realistic story, told with a directness and honesty that makes us know that however impossible the problems asha and Rashid face, we can question neither her motives nor sanity."

Rating:
Summary: I don't have a review because I have not yet read the book,
Review: I have not yet read the book because I just heard about it. However, because of your book descrptions and the positive reviews, I am leaving work right now to buy it. How can I write to the author?

Rating:
Summary: An incredible read
Review: Asha Bandele wrote a stunning memoir. Her poetic genius attacks the reader with words so beautifully woven that they make the book impossible to put down. I implore anyone who hasn't read this book to give it a chance. It is incredible. Asha spared nothing in telling her story. The book left me praying for asha and Rashid, hoping that in the end, it all works out.