Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman

Overview from BN.com:

With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before. But that past has caught up with her. Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187–424—one of the millions of people who disappear “down the rabbit hole” of the American penal system. From her first strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior and arbitrary rules. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with small tokens of generosity, hard words of wisdom, and simple acts of acceptance. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and at times enraging, Kerman’s story offers a rare look into the lives of women in prison—why it is we lock so many away and what happens to them when they’re there.

My Thoughts:

To be honest, I only picked up this book because I love the Netflix show and was happy to learn that the first season had stayed pretty true to the book. Of course, Netflix has had to embellish quite a bit for entertainment value, but a lot of the people and scenarios in the book correlated with those in the show to a lesser degree. What I found profound about the book is that (one): Kerman was absolutely willing to due her time and pay for the consequences of her actions, even though all of it happened ten years prior to her conviction, and (two): during her time of transporting drug money, it was about the thrill and excitement of it all, but while she was in prison, she actually made a correlation to the women and families who are addicted to drugs. Working for these people that were transporting drugs into the country had inadvertently caused the demise of so many women and families who are addicted to these drugs and Kerman got a first hand look at how it has ruined their lives. I feel like that was the big lesson she learned while in prison.

I liked the actual true account of this story, but I don't fee that it was great enough for me to recommend to anyone unless they really like the show and also wanted to know about the true life events. I would probably just recommend sticking with the TV show.

Rating: C