Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I have read Wally Lambs two previous books and Loved them. This book was Wonderful for the imprisoned ladies to be able to have an outlet and SHARE a peice of themselves like they did was Great.I thought it would be full of ~Poor pitiful me~Stories but it wasnt! It was little glimpses inside the lives of women who happen to be in jail..I think alot of us outside of the prison system would have very simaliar stories! Great Job Ladies! And Thank you Mr Lamb!
Rating:
Summary: close to home-literally
Review: I live about fifteen minutes from York and work at a halfway house for drug addicted women trying to get their lives back on track and many of our clients come from this prison...point being I obviously could not wait to read this book. I was not disappointed-it is uplifting and heartwrenching- it teaches compassion and shows these are women are HUMAN BEINGS not just criminals. I am glad Mr. Lamb started this writing program at the prison and that despite the efforts of some to shut it down it continues to thrive. For those who didn't like the book I can only say that you must have a very closed heart to not find any connection with any of these women...should we feel sorry for them, forgive their crimes? No-but should we be able to show some some compassion for those that may have had less than "wonderful" lives? Yes! Not everyone can have as horrible a life as some of these women and then simply pull themselves up by there bootstraps and live a "normal", happy, problem free life! Another reviewer said that it was like reading essays written by kids in grade school or some such nonesense...one must remember when reading this book most-although certainly not all-of the women who were contributers did not complete school and have not had much in the way of formal education-compassion for others is a beautiful quality-may this book help us all to cultivate that trait a bit more in our daily existence.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: I read this book after I fell in love with Lamb's writing in both Shes Come Undone and I Know this Much is True. It's a different side to Lamb but I really did enjoy it. Makes you thankful for the little things in life.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: I read this captivating collection during me senor year of high school, and i wish that it would be on the required reading list. Coming from a very homogeneous school, it was enlightening to read about people with experiences so different from my own. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a dose of reality, or just a reason to further appreciate the blessings in their life.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Reading for Troubled Teens
Review: I think that the book was a good read. Many of the stories were somewhat repetitive, altough from different voices in different environments. I think that misunderstood teen girls who have been through similar situations would benfit better from the reading of this book than most other people.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting
Review: I was a bit skeptical about this book for the sole reason that I am purely a fiction reader. I only bought it because I was dissapointed to find that Wally Lamb had not yet published any new fiction. However, this book reads as well as any piece of fiction-- educating along the way. Mr. Lamb, you have done it again. Very inpressive.
Rating:
Summary: Empathy....
Review: I was imprisoned for three days awaiting the arraignment of my domestic violence case. I still remember the smells, the sights, the disheveled women, the cruel treatment by the deputies. I was until that point a law-abiding citizen, and am to this day and am still with the same man I beat that very evening I was torn from my home and shuffled through the California justice system. I loved hearing the voices of the women who had been in the same shoes I had been in, the women who came into this world never meaning to step a foot in prison, the women who thought that it would get better with each transition, the women who knew better but hated themselves.
I read this book with the knowledge of having been there and surviving through it (but not entirely mentally) I know what it means to be at your lowest, to bite the end of the very nub of your rope, to grasp hatred at every level and to keep punching even when help comes forward. Read this book. There is something within it for every individual.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting
Review: I'm another one that couldn't put this book down until I had heard all. Thank you to these women for the courage it took to share their lives with the rest of us. The writing does vary in style and cohesiveness. But each story is beautiful in its own right in its sadness. I think of the other women in the group who were not published and feel they must be heroes as well for being able to write about their lives at all. This book will change your life. Reach out to each other, help those children around you today living in the world of neglect, abuse, and poverty. It is all about their pants, as you will see when you read Bonnie Foreshaw's piece.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful voices
Review: I've never written one of these online reviews before, but I was so moved by this book, and so moved by the spirit in which it was written, that I thought this would be as good a time as any. The events - some arbitrary, some deliberate - which shape a human life permeate every line of text. While reading, it's impossible not to reflect on the events that are portrayed and wonder: could I have fared any better? Mr. Lamb and the York Correctional Facility Administration have handed the stage over to those we most try to silence - those who are both perpetrators and victims of "evils." What a gift. My heart goes out to the authors of this book, along with a sincere hope that they never again allow themselves to be silenced. They are guidelights for those who follow - congratulations.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing and powerful read
Review: I've used this book in teaching several undergraduate classes in social work (for both social work majors and non-majors). The response from my students has been overwhelming. In some classes I had the students read only a selection from the book such as "Puzzle Pieces". Many of those students completed the book on their own. This book does a great job of drawing the reader in. I often hear students say that they couldn't put the book down and they were up very late reading it. Several students also noted that this became one of their favorite books!
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