Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison [Hardcover]

Piper Kerman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 6, 2010

SOON TO BE A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

A compelling, often hilarious, and unfailingly compassionate portrait of life inside a women’s prison
 
When Piper Kerman was sent to prison for a ten-year-old crime, she barely resembled the reckless young woman she’d been when, shortly after graduating Smith College, she’d committed the misdeeds that would eventually catch up with her. Happily ensconced in a New York City apartment, with a promising career and an attentive boyfriend, she was suddenly forced to reckon with the consequences of her very brief, very careless dalliance in the world of drug trafficking.

Kerman spent thirteen months in prison, eleven of them at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, where she met a surprising and varied community of women living under exceptional circumstances. In Orange Is the New Black, Kerman tells the story of those long months locked up in a place with its own codes of behavior and arbitrary hierarchies, where a practical joke is as common as an unprovoked fight, and where the uneasy relationship between prisoner and jailer is constantly and unpredictably recalibrated.

Revealing, moving, and enraging, Orange Is the New Black offers a unique perspective on the criminal justice system, the reasons we send so many people to prison, and what happens to them when they’re there.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Relying on the kindness of strangers during her year's stint at the minimum security correctional facility in Danbury, Conn., Kerman, now a nonprofit communications executive, found that federal prison wasn't all that bad. In fact, she made good friends doing her time among the other women, many street-hardened drug users with little education and facing much longer sentences than Kerman's original 15 months. Convicted of drug smuggling and money laundering in 2003 for a scheme she got tangled up in 10 years earlier when she had just graduated from Smith College, Kerman, at 34, was a self-surrender at the prison: quickly she had to learn the endless rules, like frequent humiliating strip searches and head counts; navigate relationships with the other campers and unnerving guards; and concoct ways to fill the endless days by working as an electrician and running on the track. She was not a typical prisoner, as she was white, blue-eyed, and blonde (nicknamed the All-American Girl), well educated, and the lucky recipient of literature daily from her fiancé, Larry, and family and friends. Kerman's account radiates warmly from her skillful depiction of the personalities she befriended in prison, such as the Russian gangster's wife who ruled the kitchen; Pop, the Spanish mami; lovelorn lesbians like Crazy Eyes; and the aged pacifist, Sister Platte. Kerman's ordeal indeed proved life altering. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Just graduated from Smith College, Kerman made the mistake of getting involved with the wrong woman and agreeing to deliver a large cash payment for an international drug ring. Years later, the consequences catch up with her in the form of an indictment on conspiracy drug-smuggling and money-laundering charges. Kerman pleads guilty and is sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. Entering prison in 2004—more than 10 years after her crime—Kerman finds herself submerged in the unique and sometimes overwhelming culture of prison, where kindness can come in the form of sharing toiletries, and an insult in the cafeteria can lead to an enduring enmity. Kerman quickly learns the rules—asking about the length of one’s prison stay is expected, but never ask about the crime that led to it—and carves a niche for herself even as she witnesses the way the prison system fails those who are condemned to it, many of them nonviolent drug offenders. An absorbing, meditative look at life behind bars. --Kristine Huntley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (April 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385523386
• ISBN-13: 978-0385523387
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > New England

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 72 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but ultimately disappointing June 23, 2010

By Susan Ferziger

Format:Hardcover

I got interested in reading Orange is the New Black after reading an excerpt in the New York Times, and reading an article from Piper's fiance Larry in the Times as well. I just finished it, and I found it really interesting - the details she provides on life in prison, the rituals, the jobs, the treatment of prisoners, is really fascinating and a view on a minimum security prison I'd never seen before. But I was often frustrated with Kerman's lack of details - I had no sense of how it was that she was free to just go do yoga or run around the track whenever she wanted, or what kind of hours she worked at her electric and construction jobs. I was really moved by the descriptions of the other women in prison and of the friendships she formed, but I also had trouble keeping the women straight, especially when she'd bring up a name that she hadn't mentioned in several chapters, and I would try to remember who Delicious or Pom-Pom or Toni was.

I did find her to be a bit smug, going out of her way to explain that while most prisoners kept to their ethnic "tribes," she was friends with everyone, other prisoners came to her for help with their homework or legal work, she lent out all of her books and gave away all of her possessions, etc. While I liked her voice, I felt she went overboard in trying to portray herself as non-racist, and as someone who didn't feel above everyone she was incarcerated with.

Mostly though, I was disappointed in the ending. For the last 100 pages, I was looking forward to the end, to what happens when Piper gets home. She ruminates a lot on the balance between getting used to prison rituals but not getting so comfortable that you forget the outside world, so I wanted to know how she found the adjustment to home, whether there was any tension with Larry.... Most of all, after she credits the women at Danbury for their friendship and kindness, I wondered if she simply left without turning back or if she kept in touch with anyone, wrote letters, saw anyone who got out on the outside (like Pop)? I felt robbed of one last chapter, which I felt the book was leading up to.

All in all, this was enjoyable, but not something I'll enthusiastically recommend. Read more ›

46 of 54 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Moments of satisfaction, but I kept waiting and hoping for more May 17, 2010

By Blueberrymom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I became interested in Piper Kerman's story when I read Larry's contribution to the NY Times Modern Love column and saw that her book was forthcoming. I bought the book and kept reading and reading, hoping for something interesting to pop up. It didn't.

The first chapter is great, but the whole middle section is crammed full of details about every person who she meets in prison. And so many people are introduced you can't even keep them straight. And of course her fiance and family are amazingly, perfectly supportive. She makes one small dig at her mother (about asking her daughter if she thought her mom looked her age) but other than that, every member of Team Piper comes off amazingly (and unbelievably) well.

I would like to know how she re-entered society, how it felt to be job-hunting with her criminal record, how difficult it was to fall back into her relationship with Larry after being imprisoned for 13 months. Instead, I got details about crocheted sex organ toys and a disagreement at the prison salad bar.

I'm sure prison wasn't easy or enjoyable. I just wish the book had told more of the interesting part of the story and less of the repetitive details.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A painful read! June 27, 2011

By bonjour

Format:Paperback

This shallow "memoir" is an absolutely painful read. After reading the beautifully written "Fish" by TJ Parsell I was intrigued. What I got, however, was a ridiculous self indulgence by Kerman, who takes EVERY opportunity to remind the reader that she is educated, white and good looking (?!).... (you never once get to forget she graduated from Smith). Nearing the middle of the book it became simply laughable how she related constant examples of how popular she was and how "hip" she was with different ethnicities. Equally annoying, however was her references to how "different" she was then the typical prisoner. Some of her biggest struggles involved juggling all of her friends and family who wanted to come and visit her, getting two subscriptions to the same magazine etc. Lacking in depth, insight and wisdom this should have stayed in her personal journal.
I would highly highly recommend "Fish" by TJ Parsell in comparison this is just a disgrace.

43 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic, spellbinding account April 18, 2010

By Amy Steele

Format:Hardcover

Not that long ago, I got cuffed COPS-style and it completely freaked me out--my wrists ended up bloodied and bruised. I grew up in a WASPy middle-class environment in a suburb in Massachusetts. In 1991, I graduated from Simmons College, a small women's college in Boston. Piper Kerman graduated from one of the Seven Sisters-- Smith College-- at around the same time. That's where the similarities between my life and Piper's life end. In 1992, I drove across the United States with a friend from my days as a competitive equestrian. While I visited San Diego, Las Vegas and Bryce Canyon, Piper hung out in Bali with drug runners and carried drug money to Brussels.

A decade later, Piper's criminal past, which she had long left behind, caught up with her. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed, well-educated Piper found herself in lock-up for a felony. Sentenced to 14 months in the women's correctional facility in Danbury, Conn. Piper chronicles every detail in this candid and reflective memoir.

Only 30 pages in, when Piper surrenders to the women's prison in Danbury, Conn., I find my own heart racing as she describes the process so vividly. I would have had a major panic attack and passed out. Piper remains relatively composed as her fiance dropped her at the door. Piper decides from the get-go that she needed to be brave, even if she just puts on a brave face. If she didn't remain in that state of mind she felt that she'd be doomed to harassment and not getting through her sentence unscathed both emotionally and physically.

When Piper first arrives she immediately notices the tribal system where many women tend to "stick" to their own--blacks with blacks; Latinos with Latinos; whites with whites and so-forth.... Over time, Piper has friends of every color and more importantly, these women accept her. [It was all very West Side Story--stick to your own kind, Maria!] Piper ends up in B Dorm aka "The Ghetto."

In Orange is the New Black, Piper provides the real scoop on good prison guards vs. bad. She details earning various privileges like using the phone and procuring special items from the commissary. Then there's smuggling choice food from the cafeteria in the front of one's underwear for cooking up later. There's a plethora of protocols and methods to avoid trouble or privileges revoked. Piper recalls work duties. First she works in the electrical area and learns many tricks. Then she moves on to construction which allows her a bit more freedom and some fresh air. A true respite for her. Then there are a few prisoners who make passes at Piper which she manages to ward off, avoiding any insults.

It's not all completely terrible despite being locked up. Piper slowly makes a close posse of friends on the inside. She reads a ton and has so many books that she lends them out to various inmates. To avoid stress, Piper runs on an outside track six miles a day and longer on the weekends. She also starts yoga classes with a vegetarian known as Yoga Janet. Piper gets hooked and finds it's a great stress-reducer and a chance for personal reflection. Things also aren't all rosy. There are many times when Piper falls into despair and retreats to her bunk to read or runs around and around and around the track to escape into NPR or a college radio station.

Piper touches on several controversial subjects including incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. I agree with her on this one. It's similar to arresting the prostitutes by not the johns. Or pimps for that matter. One Dominican lady in her 70s was in for four years for a "wire charge": she took phone messages for her drug-dealing relative.

She discusses restorative justice as a result of reflecting on what she had done and some of the women she befriended in prison-- "But our current criminal justice system has no provision for restorative justice, in which an offender confronts the damage they have done and tries to make it right to the people they have harmed." Many who itch to return to the streets go right back to the drugs that got them locked up. The Bureau of Prisons [BOP] lacks the basic ability, funding and time to rehabilitate the incarcerated and thus the recidivism to commit the same crimes once released remains real. Some women turn to bad behavior as a coping mechanism against their poverty, lack of family support, abusive spouse and boyfriends and general hopelessness. She also talks candidly about her shock that very little is done for the women who've completed sentences and have no resources for release: reuniting with children and family members, finding housing and finding employment.

Piper's story is at times upsetting and at other times amusing. She's a courageous woman and the memoir is a gift to readers and an inspiration. Its truth will open your eyes to unfair treatment, lack of rehabilitation and repeated frustrations within the U.S. prison system. Orange is the New Black is at turns daunting, authentic, provocative and spellbinding. The best part is that it's about women from all different backgrounds bonding to endure a miserable situation. Read more ›