Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institute

 

I heard about this book in discussions of Netflix's show Orange is the New Black. This book is a collection of writings from women prisoners at a Connecticut prison. The title character is the name of a male writer who held sessions at the prison, helping inmates write their story.

One of the stories is about Diane. She started dating a coworker when she was young. He raped her and eventually became pregnant. Both of their parents agreed the two should get married. On day two of their marriage, Diane's husband was very late to work. When questioned, he said he had to spend time explaining to his second girlfriend that he got married to someone else.

Diane had plenty of other stories to tell. Her father had run away to live with the woman next door. Initially the children and grandma did not believe it. But Diane's mother was adamant. Her mother had the kids wake up early one morning, and spy on the neighbor's house. Diane was put in charge of taking a flashlight and investigating. Lo and behold, her dad was actually hiding in the neighbor's car.