I have not yet watched the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, but I have read Piper Kerman's memoir of her time in Federal Correctional Institute, Danbury. This story is not exactly what I expected.
I expected the parts where she talked about how bad the food was in prison. I didn't expect them to cook for themselves using the few ingredients they could find in the prison "convenience" store and a microwave. I expected them to have to work for ridiculously low wages. I didn't expect them to do electrical work with almost no training and with barely any supervision. I expected long hours of solitude and boredom. I didn't expect her to get mail every day, to get packages filled with books all the time, and for her weekly visits with her family and friends.
I expected her to feel entitled and unrepentant. After all, she was convicted on a drug charge that had been committed a decade earlier. I didn't expect her to see herself as part of the problem, as a cog in the wheel that brought a lot of her cellmates to the prison. I didn't expect her to be humble and nervous and so charmingly genuine.
I wanted very much not to like her. But I couldn't help it. She is intelligent and honest and real. She shared her friendships. She shared her fears. She shared her frustrations with the system. She found the perfect balance of reserve and involvement. She shared legitimate complaints about the prison system from having been on the inside. She took full responsibility for her actions and found a way to forgive her mistakes and move forward into a better life. She set a good example for us all, felons and not.
I expected not to like this memoir. Piper Kerman proved me wrong. Read this one. It's worth it.