Orange is the New Black is a memoir of a
period of experience (not a lifespan) and a commentary through that experience
on the American criminal justice system. Relying on the assurance that what she
relays about her own incarceration is truthful to her memory, Kerman embraces
the authority of first person voice to tell a story that is personal, though
not singular, a story that challenges the narratives of power and invites the
reader to read beyond the words on the page to question the ramifications and
implications toward which those words point.
Is there any room for restoration in our system? How close is our system
of corrections to revenge? Is our system
about justice or about retribution?
Kerman’s
writing reflects the uniqueness of her own intersectional identities: she is a
white, educated, middle class woman, temporarily incarcerated, with means and
resources to not only survive her limited sentence, but to move beyond it once
her time is served. While Orange is
certainly her story, Kerman’s writing gives voice to countless others who have no
voice, and in such a way, through its telling, the personal becomes political.
A
moving narrative that portrays the interwoven complexity of choices,
consequences, circumstance, and identity, Orange
is a worthwhile read for any who seek to find a place in their story for their
past, and for those who wonder if the telling of one’s story really can make a
difference.
Kerman, Piper. Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, Spiegel &
Grau (March 8, 2011).
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