A review by morpmeep
The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison by Hugh Ryan

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

An incredible read. Hugh Ryan manages to condense and connect the lived and stories of decades of queer women and trans men. It lays bare the gruesome realities of the carceral system; the roots of it's existence and the pains that it has caused. Ryan consistently tries throughout the book to amplify the voices of those who have historically been left out of the queer narrative and highlights the intricate web that connects poverty, race, and queerness. 

in one of the final chapters he discusses the development of families within the house of D - queer women and trans folk who turned to each other to keep the hope. in many ways. reading this book was like finding my own family. the ancestors i was never given the privilege to know.