Take a photo of a barcode or cover
debra_reads_ 's review for:
Corrections in Ink: A Memoir
by Keri Blakinger
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Dear Corrections in Ink,
How do I write a letter to a book as important as you are? There are not enough words to explain how raw and touching you are. Memoir writing has to be one of the most difficult stories to write. Keri takes a deep dive into the darkest, most sordid parts of her life, exposing the brutal truths of her time turning tricks and selling drugs, and the pain, fear and isolation she experienced in jail and prison. I have had one person in my life who has done time, and I had no idea what the day to day was like. Being able to see a small part of what was that like for Keri opened my eyes to the brutality of the prison system in our country. She also does a brilliant job of acknowledging the privileges that she had at her disposal and sharing her gratitude for that privilege. She shed light on the facts that if she were Black, none of the second (and third and fourth) chances she was given, never would have happened for her. I was astonished to learn that time in solitary does not actually count toward time served, and how the system is rigged to keep felons inside it. I had no idea the rules were so arbitrary and unclear and easy to break. You are a beautiful story about the broken system in our country, a symptom of a much larger problem, and how one woman is working to change it.
How do I write a letter to a book as important as you are? There are not enough words to explain how raw and touching you are. Memoir writing has to be one of the most difficult stories to write. Keri takes a deep dive into the darkest, most sordid parts of her life, exposing the brutal truths of her time turning tricks and selling drugs, and the pain, fear and isolation she experienced in jail and prison. I have had one person in my life who has done time, and I had no idea what the day to day was like. Being able to see a small part of what was that like for Keri opened my eyes to the brutality of the prison system in our country. She also does a brilliant job of acknowledging the privileges that she had at her disposal and sharing her gratitude for that privilege. She shed light on the facts that if she were Black, none of the second (and third and fourth) chances she was given, never would have happened for her. I was astonished to learn that time in solitary does not actually count toward time served, and how the system is rigged to keep felons inside it. I had no idea the rules were so arbitrary and unclear and easy to break. You are a beautiful story about the broken system in our country, a symptom of a much larger problem, and how one woman is working to change it.