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lotusblue 's review for:
Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System
by Cyntoia Brown-Long
I listened to this book after several days of vacillating back and forth. Did i want to purchase a hard copy or could I be content listening to the author read her journey. I am grateful that Cyntoia and Jamie read her story. It made the tragedy that resulted in transformation resonate all the more with me. It was emotional hearing her describe her journey of needing acceptance.
It's so easy to be sterile and assume that there system doesn't make mistakes. That everyone who has ever been incarcerated deserved it. Cyntoia exemplifies what happens when lawyers, parents, educators etc, don't advocate for a child. instead l Instead they allow them to be shuffled through the systematic imperfect processes that label an individual. There is no room to make allowances for mitigating circumstances. No compassion for those who look differently or have a different perspective of "normal."
This is the truth of a young woman who's intellect and flippant attitude often impeded her ability to communicate what her needs were. She eventually succumbed to the ideology that others knew best. The mother who raised her had no clue her daughter's esteem was on the auction block. The mother who walked away from her didn't check in to ensure that her mistakes weren't repeated. The world of black and white became her world. From her ethnicity to the way she was drug through the system no one saw the grey areas that could have given her an opportunity for the inner freedom she needed to overcome internal and external obstacles. No one that is but God. As she says, He never stopped in His pursuit of me even when I denounced Him to whomever was listening. That knowledge was the key to the release she needed in order to fully appreciate life outside of the walls. I pray she will honor the covenant she made with God and continue to advocate for people worldwide who have no one to speak for them.
It's so easy to be sterile and assume that there system doesn't make mistakes. That everyone who has ever been incarcerated deserved it. Cyntoia exemplifies what happens when lawyers, parents, educators etc, don't advocate for a child. instead l Instead they allow them to be shuffled through the systematic imperfect processes that label an individual. There is no room to make allowances for mitigating circumstances. No compassion for those who look differently or have a different perspective of "normal."
This is the truth of a young woman who's intellect and flippant attitude often impeded her ability to communicate what her needs were. She eventually succumbed to the ideology that others knew best. The mother who raised her had no clue her daughter's esteem was on the auction block. The mother who walked away from her didn't check in to ensure that her mistakes weren't repeated. The world of black and white became her world. From her ethnicity to the way she was drug through the system no one saw the grey areas that could have given her an opportunity for the inner freedom she needed to overcome internal and external obstacles. No one that is but God. As she says, He never stopped in His pursuit of me even when I denounced Him to whomever was listening. That knowledge was the key to the release she needed in order to fully appreciate life outside of the walls. I pray she will honor the covenant she made with God and continue to advocate for people worldwide who have no one to speak for them.