Soledad Women: Wives of Prisoners Speak Out [Hardcover]

Lori B. Girshick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275954099 | ISBN-13: 978-0275954093 | Publication Date: June 21, 1996

Little attention has been paid to the lives led by families of prisoners. Using a feminist approach, the author explores how the lives of 25 wives of prisoners at Soledad prison are affected by the incarceration of their husbands. Relationships, stigma, coping, finances, children, the prison system, and rehabilitation are explored through in-depth interviews. This study describes the experiences of the wives and seeks to connect their experiences to a conceptual framework that explores the context of sex, race, and class inequalities. The author discusses prison policy recommendations to improve the lot of prisoners' families, emphasizing the ways in which life is organized in families where the husband/father is imprisoned. Several themes emerge in this work. The powerful role of the wife, women as caretakers, and the subordinate position these women hold in society due to their sex, class, and race, are some examples. Recommendations are made to ease the burden of visiting, and encourage maintenance of family roles.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wives of prisoners are often an afterthought in terms of criminal justice policy and practice. They have been rarely studied, and most of the literature on this population has further pathologized and stigmatized prisoners' wives. Dr. Girshick's insightful study sheds new light on this phenomenon and gives the prisoner's wife a human face. This examination of the impact of incarceration on women who are married to prisoners is critical to effecting changes in correctional policies and practices which often "punish" the wives (and children) for crimes they did not commit."-Barbara E. Bloom Bloom & Associates

Book Description

Soledad Women explores how wives of prisoners are affected by the incarceration of their husbands. A feminist framework is used to examine the intersection of gender roles, class, and race.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (June 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275954099
• ISBN-13: 978-0275954093
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,002,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.