Description
Book SynopsisCritical stories are narratives that recount the writer’s experiences, situating those experiences in broader cultural contexts. In this volume of Critical Storytelling, marginalized, excluded, and oppressed peoples share insights from their liminality to help readers learn from their perspectives on living from behind invisible bars. Female inmates at Decatur’s Correctional Center and the undergraduate Millikin University students who worked with them come together to give voice to their specific histories of living from behind invisibile bars and pose important questions to the reader about inciting change for the future. Specifically, the voices in this volume seek to expose, analyze, and challenge deeply-entrenched narratives and characterizations of incarcerated women, whose histories are often marked by sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty, PTSD, a lack of education, housing insecurity, mental illness, and substance addiction. These silenced female inmate voices need to be heard and contextualized within the larger metanarrative of prison literature. Through telling critical stories, these writers attempt to: sustain recovery from trauma, make positive changes and informed decisions, create a real sense of empowerment, strengthen their capacity to exercise personal agency, and inspire audiences to create change far outside the reaches of physical and metaphorical bars. Contributors are: Anonymous, Soren Belle, Megan Batty, Dwight G. Brown, Jr., Sandra Brown, Kathryn Coffey, Kelly Cunningham, Paiten Hamilton, Kathlyn J. Housh, Rebekah Icenesse, Kala Keller, Jelisa Lovette, Bric Martin, Amanda Minetti, Laura Nearing, Angie Oaks, Claire Prendergast, Cara Quiett, J. M. Spence, Noah Villarreal and Alisha Walker.
Table of ContentsPreface Notes on Contributors Prologue Alex V. Miller 1 A Prisoner’s Melody Sandra Brown, Jelissa Lovette and Alisha Walker 2 Barcode Sandra Brown 3 Caged Jelissa Lovette 4 The Forbidden & the Prohibited Soren Belle 5 Truth or Dare Sandra Brown 6 The People I Met When the Sky Went Dark Bric Martin 7 The Great Wall of Insanity J. M. Spence 8 State of Mind Jelissa Lovette 9 The Call Sandra Brown 10 Pivotal Times Angie Oakes 11 A Daughter’s Sorrow Sandra Brown 12 Talking It out from the Inside Cara Quiett 13 Mother-Less Child Jelissa Lovette 14 Not Waving, Not Drowning Sandra Brown 15 Isaac Claire Prendergast 16 Prison Angie Oaks 17 Love Find Me Jelissa Lovette 18 Little Girl Lost Angie Oakes 19 Everlasting Kiss Jelissa Lovette 20 Backburner Bitch Anonymous 21 Love Alive Kala Keller 22 My Dragonfly Laura Neering 23 Puzzle Pieces in My Eyes Rebekah M. Icenesse 24 Piece of Me Jelissa Lovette 25 Nothing New under the Sun Sandra Brown 26 Living a Life with Invisible Bars Kathlyn J. Housh 27 Where Would I Be Jelissa Lovette 28 My Odyssey Sandra Brown 29 What Makes Straight so Great? Dwight G. Brown, Jr. 30 Nature’s Sanctuary Angie Oakes 31 Nature’s Pride and Promise Cara Quiett 32 Finding Stability in Motion Megan Batty 33 Queen of Soul Jelisa Lovette 34 Melodies & Recipes Cara Quiett 35 Unanswered Questions Paiten Hamilton 36 Gregory’s Gift Sandra Brown 37 Sentimental Syrup Cara Quiett 38 Perfection: A History of Me & My Multi-Colored Elephants Kathryn A. Coffey 39 Final Thoughts Sandra Brown 40 Stopping the Cycle: My Journey with Generational Body Image Kelly Cunningham 41 My Four Opportunities to Grow Up Noah Villarreal 42 My Last Bow Amanda Minetti 43 The Eulogy Sandra Brown 44 Yoga Me Free Cara Quiett 45 Metamorphosis Sandra Brown Epilogue Carmella J. Braniger, Rebekah M. Icenesse, Kathryn A. Coffey and Alex V. Miller
