I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison (P.S.)

I came across Wally Lamb's first book written by the women incarcerated at York Prison when I was a new volunteer at Greenhaven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, NY. Although I was working on an individual basis with the men there, Lamb's book motivated me to take a new path with my students at Greenhaven. He inspired me to help the men write their own "stories" about their lives. I also own Lamb's second book, I'LL FLY AWAY and have read portions of it to my classes. One of my students encouraged me to write a personal letter to one of the women in the book. She is the author of "A Gift". For the last year now, we have been corresponding and I have visited her 4 times. She has one of the longest sentences at York: 50 years with no chance of parole. I think what Lamb has accomplished in publishing these two remarkable books is to educate people like us about women like those at York. They have made some poor choices but they are also victims themselves--in many cases of horrific abuse in all its forms. I am proud to own these books and Lamb mailed me an autographed copy of the second book~encouraging me to continue my work at Greenhaven.

Wonderful writers with amazing stories to tell.

This book, and its partner "Couldn't Keep It To Myself" by the same author, is at times tough and uplifting. These are essays that women have worked on in a writing class inside the prison. They are their personal stories, which usually reveal so much about their circumstances and decisions that led them to incarceration. Some of it is rough to read, such as troubled family lives and things happening to them that we don't like to think about. You get a chance to see the real consequences of poor treatment and bad circumstances. It's must-see information so we can all be more empathetic and alert when it comes to how we treat loved ones, watch over our neighborhood, and care for the society at large. But beyond the painful histories, these essays reveal how these women are searching inside themselves to identify and correct troublesome thoughts and habits, and rehabilitating themselves in the process. In this respect it is very inspiring and uplifting. Most of us go through our days without thinking much about the deep things. In these essays we can follow the path of discovery with these women, some further along than others, and the progress they have made even in spite of their handicapped backgrounds and current incarceration. It can't help but motivate the reader to higher aspirations with his own circumstances. I could recommend these two books to anyone who is interested in: child care, teaching, psychology, dealing with challenges, religion, or caring about our fellow man. As an aside, I bought these books because I responded to an ad in our local paper looking for "weekend puppy-raisers". This prison has a program of training inmates to raise puppys for future life as an assistance dog to a handicapped person. The inmates work hard for the privilege, and dedicate themselves wholly to making the ideal dog for its future needy owner. On weekends, the dogs go home with a family to get socialized to life outside the prison walls. I signed up as a weekend family, solely because I missed having a dog, and with my work schedule, a full-time dog was impossible. What I didn't expect, was that the relationship with the inmate raising the pup would mean at least as much to me as the pup. The transformation that the woman is undergoing, as she works on herself and learns more about how her actions impact others and her own future, is so inspiring. I was surprised to find "real people" in prison, and so I got these two books to learn more about who they are and what led them to that point. We all have less-than-ideal life histories and personal choices, it's just a matter of degree, and I've found this helps me open my eyes to a world I avoided even thinking about - troubled families and people living in rough circumstances or making bad choices. It's good take off the blinders. I'll post the same review on the companion book.

Just wonderful! I love Wally Lamb's novels, and I find his work with female inmates inspiring . I would love to read similar works facilitated in men's prisons.

Not quite as good as the first collection of prisoner's compositions. But it is still worth reading to learn about the plights of these women and makes you think as a society what we could have done to prevent the events leading to the incarcerations in the first place.

I'm so grateful to Wally Lamb's sensitivity and sense of commitment to social justice which allowed these incarcerated women's voices to be heard. The result is a poetic window into the lives of others, some very different from us, some just unlucky as hell. The result is a passionate, intimate glimpse into a world few know or want to know exists. Refreshingly raw and insightful.

Excellent anthology of writing by women in prison who took part in Wally Lamb's writingn classes. Several of the most touching pieces are by young women serving long sentences for crimes committed at very young ages. Great reading for anyone interested in social justice issues.

If you have opinions about Crime an Punishment for women, you really need to read I'll fly away before you spout off about how those who break the law get what they deserve. Their stories opened my eyes and touched my heart.

A touching collection of real life stories and some lovely poetry, puts you inside the minds of how these women end up in prison and how they cope and better themselves. Would recommend this book, especially if you know someone who's been there.

GOOD BOOK

excellent book

the previous book was so good i thought 2nd would be as good,it was ok but no where as interesting as 1st.prob because this book was really short stories whereas the 1st were short stories but with much more depth and detail.worth buying anyway

It was a struggle. I have to be honest: I haven't finished reading it because, as you might expect, I couldn't relate to it in any way.Fortunately for me, life has been more kind.