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amydeppe's review
5.0
I am so glad that this book exists! Hugh Ryan brings the history of the Women's House of Detention out of the shadows, holding space for the women and gender nonconforming people who passed through its walls. It is a story that needed to be told and needs to be heard!
courtneyfalling's review
emotional
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This has a lot of scholarly information, but I appreciated the thorough integration of different real women and their intersections with the House of D. It makes sense from limited archives that we can't follow each individual further, but I do wish the transitions were crisper, if not full storylines to illustrate the full long-term implications of trauma from the House of D. Really interesting as a study of modern Greenwich Village's formation and for any New Yorker in particular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Lesbophobia
lesbrary's review
4.0
At first glance, this seems like a narrow focus typical of a very academic book. But as each chapter looks at the prison through the decades, we see how this is a microcosm of broad social issues at the time. The story of The Women’s House of Detention is the story of LGBTQ liberation, and it also illustrates how prison abolition is a necessity.
Since each chapter focuses on personal stories as a window into the lives of queer women and transmasculine people during that time period in New York, it makes this accessible and readable. We also get a look into queer communities in each decade, including how the people in The Women’s House of Detention participated in Stonewall and previous protests, even if few people saw or heard about it.
I haven’t read as much queer history as I would like, but this is one of my favourite books I’ve read on the topic, and I highly recommend it. The discussion about prison abolition versus reform is relevant to the conversations we’re having today, and seeing a timeline of how this push and pull has played out over a 50-year time period is helpful background. Both for the personal stories and the overall message, you should definitely pick this one up.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
Since each chapter focuses on personal stories as a window into the lives of queer women and transmasculine people during that time period in New York, it makes this accessible and readable. We also get a look into queer communities in each decade, including how the people in The Women’s House of Detention participated in Stonewall and previous protests, even if few people saw or heard about it.
I haven’t read as much queer history as I would like, but this is one of my favourite books I’ve read on the topic, and I highly recommend it. The discussion about prison abolition versus reform is relevant to the conversations we’re having today, and seeing a timeline of how this push and pull has played out over a 50-year time period is helpful background. Both for the personal stories and the overall message, you should definitely pick this one up.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
sapphisms's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0