ANGELA JACKSON-BROWN
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Trip to A Women’s Prison: It Could Have Been Me

5/7/2014

9 Comments

 
Picture
The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is…

Today, I walked into a prison for the first time in my life. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know if the women would be hostile. Violent. Mistrusting. Accusatory. Apathetic. I didn’t know. I was excited to be there with them, but I still prepared myself for the worse. I prepared myself to face a room full of angry women who resented my freedom to come and go as I pleased. I imagined a classroom of women shackled and chained by the choices they made that led them to a life of incarceration. I imagined a cross between Orange is the New Black and Shawshank Redemption. I tried to prepare myself for the fact that these women would be nothing like me. Nothing like me. Nothing like me.

The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is…

I looked each woman in the face. Smiling faces. Hopeful faces. Faces similar to the fresh faces I see each time I teach at the University. I heard names like Denise, Angel and Amy. Names that didn’t inspire fear. Names that implied they could have been doctors. Lawyers. Teachers. Names that didn’t convey poor choices. Names that any of us could bear.

The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is…

I saw women with tattoos that mirrored my own. Nothing scary. Just names of babies. Names of boys they thought would love them to infinity and beyond. Images of loved ones gone but not forgotten. Birds. Hearts. Bible Verses. I heard women tell stories similar to my own – stories of abuse, self-loathing, and anger. I saw regret in the eyes of women who knew there would be no do overs. I saw women who, under normal circumstances, would be my colleagues. My next door neighbors. My best friends. My sisters. My aunts. My mothers. I heard women with life sentences speak about dreams for the future. I looked in mirrors and saw me looking back.

The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is…

I saw women whose psyche was sometimes so fragile they hid from the night like it was an abusive lover. I, too, fear the night sometimes. I, too, wonder will that elusive sun really come out tomorrow. I saw graceful movements. I heard lyrical voices. I saw beautiful flowers I wanted to rescue and take home with me so they could stretch towards the light and grow the way they were meant to grow. Only grace and good fortune allowed me to say my good-byes and walk outside into the light, but, before leaving, I promised. I’ll be back. I won’t leave and unremember you. I’ll be back. I promise you, I’ll be back.

The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is I got lucky. The only thing separating them from me is…

 


9 Comments
tricia leaf
5/7/2014 08:31:47 am

Just lovely Angela!

Reply
Angela Jackson-Brown link
6/16/2014 03:43:50 am

Thank you, Tricia! A truly humbling experience.

Reply
Tracy Butler link
5/7/2014 05:24:17 pm

This is a wonderful piece of writing. It is easy to think that we are somehow so different or maybe even better than another. However, we really are just one mistake or bad decision from being on the other side of those bars!

Reply
Angela Jackson-Brown
6/16/2014 03:44:28 am

Thank you, Tracy! You are exactly right.

Reply
Adrienne Bliss
6/16/2014 03:41:42 am

You brought light! We cannot keep copies of your book on the shelf - everyone wants to read it. We look forward to having your beauty of soul and mind back.

Reply
Angela Jackson-Brown
6/16/2014 03:45:10 am

Thank you, Adrienne. Any time! I would love to visit the ladies again.

Reply
Meg Hurtado Bloom link
6/18/2014 09:15:06 am

This is beautiful.

Reply
Angela Jackson-Brown
6/19/2014 01:46:13 am

Thank you so much!

Reply
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10/12/2019 04:50:07 am

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    Angela's books

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    The Great Gatsby
    by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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    The Hunger Games
    by Suzanne Collins
    The Sound and the Fury
    5 of 5 stars
    The Sound and the Fury
    by William Faulkner
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    5 of 5 stars
    A Streetcar Named Desire
    by Tennessee Williams
    The Sun Also Rises
    4 of 5 stars
    The Sun Also Rises
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  • HOME
  • BOOKS
    • Untethered >
      • Sample Chapter-UNTETHERED
    • Homeward >
      • Syllabus for HOMEWARD
    • The Light Always Breaks - A novel
    • When Stars Rain Down - A Novel
    • Drinking From A Bitter Cup - A Novel
    • House Repairs - Poetry
  • AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
  • INVITE ANGELA TO SPEAK
  • MEDIA KIT
  • CONTACT