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Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett (Hardcover)

~ Jennifer Gonnerman (Author) "Twenty-six-year-old Elaine Bartlett cracked open the bedroom closet and surveyed her options..." (more)
Key Phrases: court matron, drug prisoners, parole office, Bedford Hills, New York City, Elaine Bartlett (more...)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Village Voice staff writer's feature-turned-book about the impact of the Rockefeller drug laws on one family, this narrative begs comparison with last year's bestselling Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx. Like Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Gonnerman has obviously done her homework. The story of Elaine Bartlett, a first offender sentenced to a staggering 16 years for drug trafficking, and the fate of her four children both during and after her incarceration, is told in encyclopedic detail, sometimes to a fault-including the entire texts of many letters, minutiae of clothing and even full grocery lists. Unlike LeBlanc's graceful prose, Gonnerman's style is utterly artless, occasionally to the point of awkwardness. But Gonnerman makes an excellent argument for the ways in which the New York criminal justice system, particularly the "tough on crime" measures imposed in the last three decades, fails poor and less educated people. She skillfully uses Bartlett, a tough, assertive woman who struggles to hold a job and keep her family together after their enforced years of separation, as an exemplar of the wide-ranging impact of incarceration on both ex-cons and the communities they leave behind, a social problem just beginning to be studied. This book takes its place as part of a current broad reconsideration of the war on drugs and the unprecedented prison-industrial complex it has created in America.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

For two and a half years, journalist Gonnerman shadowed recently released prisoner Elaine Bartlett, providing an intimate glimpse into the multiple difficulties associated with attempting to reassimilate into a society that is ill-prepared and often unwilling to assist ex-convicts. Convicted under the unforgiving Rockefeller drug laws, first-time offender Bartlett served 16 years in prison for selling cocaine. Attempting to reconnect with her four children, find a job, and acquire decent housing were all herculean tasks for the undereducated yet fiercely determined Bartlett. Although undeniably attached to her subject, Gonnerman nevertheless paints a fairly objective portrait of both her strengths and her failings as she struggles to overcome and conquer societal pressures and expectations. Refreshingly and bluntly honest, Bartlett eventually achieves a personal triumph when she becomes an eloquent activist campaigning against the brutally harsh drug laws that dictated her lengthy sentence. Guaranteed to raise both eyebrows and awareness, this powerful testament to tenacity raises important questions about this nation's inadequately funded and poorly designed reentry system for paroled inmates. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1 edition (March 15, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0374186871
  • ISBN-13: 978-0374186876
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #866,081 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Jennifer Gonnerman
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Twenty-six-year-old Elaine Bartlett cracked open the bedroom closet and surveyed her options. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
court matron, drug prisoners, parole office, prison greens, home from prison, prison visiting room, selling heroin, leaving prison, state prison system, narcotics unit
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bedford Hills, New York City, Elaine Bartlett, Rikers Island, Officer Russell, Project Renewal, Albany County, Lower East Side, George Deets, Wald Houses, Little Mel, South Forty, Housing Authority, East Third Street, Green Haven, Nathan Brooks, Lora Tucker, Big Red, East Harlem, Officer Camacho, Governor Pataki, Providence House, Wagner Houses, Yvonne Bartlett, Charles Grodin
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This book cites 27 books:
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Leadership by Rudolph W. Giuliani
Behind Bars by Stephen C. Richards
Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
 

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Artful--A Page Turner, October 28, 2004
By M. Shaffer (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I almost passed this book by because one of the trade reviews called it "artless". What a tragedy that would have been. The same trade reviewer questioned the use of shopping lists and other minutia of detail.

As a school board director, I can tell you that the most salient things are these details- particularly the writing samples, the better the writing sample is for a particular family member, the better the outcome of their life. Coincidence? I do not think so. This is hard evidence that skills matter.

Elaine Bartlett worked hard on improving her skills in prison. The tragedy is that she was not there to be able to usher those same skills in her children because the system removed her form their lives.

This book is an indictment on the Rockefeller Drug Laws-well-meaning though they may have been, they are a social disaster. They have and are continuing to destroy families. Many of the judges who initially supported them, have reversed their opinion. It is time to adjust the law for the social realities-after all, the Supreme Court found that prevailing Community Standards should be the standard. The Rockefeller Drug Laws are an outlier in the scheme of social norms.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Life Extraordinary!, July 1, 2004
By A Customer
This book pulls you into the world of a woman who exposes every side of herself and her life - the good, not so good; tragic, and triumphant. It it a must read for any and everyone who is in human services, public policy, sociology...let's be real, for any and every human being. One does not have to totally identify with Ms. Bartlett to even learn and grow from this book. Ms. Gonnerman writes the book in "...words that we all can easily understand." moving one through so much information, one can not put it down....and the heroics of the people who were there for Ms. Bartlett! And her family! A testimony of true survival.

Great Read!

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, May 26, 2004
By A Customer
This book actually blew my mind. I hadn't ever given much thought to our prison system. Bad people go to jail, right? Ms. Gonnerman has somehow been able to write a book that is fascinating, compelling, heart-breaking, infuriating, AND educational. I finished the book and immediately wanted more information about Elaine Bartlett and the status of the Rockefeller drug laws in New York. Fortunately, the author has also created a web site for those of us that want more information: http://www.lifeontheoutside.com.

I wish this book were required reading for all lawmakers, judges, lawyers, police and parole officers...

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Hard Look at the Human Price of the Rockefeller Drug Laws
This book is the true account of Elaine Bartlett, and her life during and after a sixteen year prison sentence for drug possession, and encourages the reader to question the... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Brian

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but one-sided
This is the story of a young mother who made the mistake of agreeing to deliver a large amount of drugs from NYC to Albany in hopes of making some quick cash. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Privacy, Please

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting but biases
It is a very good book, but I am a bit skeptical of some of the content
Published on March 13, 2008 by Janelle Nehring

5.0 out of 5 stars The Urban Book Source
Unlike most prison stories which chronicle the lives of men caught in the system, Life on the Outside, sketches the life of Elaine Bartlett, a mother of four and victim of the... Read more
Published on August 13, 2007 by The Urban Book Source

5.0 out of 5 stars Learned a lot from this book....
I feel as though I've now had an intimate look at life in the ghetto. This story of Elaine Bartlett is written with honesty and has no happy ending. Read more
Published on February 2, 2007 by Barb - Arizona

5.0 out of 5 stars Life on the Outside, Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett
An important book. Several years ago, I read a lengthy rave review about this book in "The New York Times" and bought it. Read more
Published on August 4, 2006 by Ari Kohn

5.0 out of 5 stars Outraged Was My First Thought
I was outraged that a first time offense could land this mother in prison for 15 to life is that justice No matter fact Hell to the No. Read more
Published on January 24, 2006 by N. Powell

5.0 out of 5 stars Prisoner Reentry from a Personal Perspective
Expertly crafted by Jennifer Gonnerman, this biography traces the life of Elaine Bartlett, a resident of a housing project in East Harlem, who at a young age was arrested for... Read more
Published on January 2, 2006 by Dan R. Beto

3.0 out of 5 stars One sided but worth reading
Very compelling and well written account of one's woman's experience with the criminal justice system. Read more
Published on November 24, 2005 by Child of Welfare

5.0 out of 5 stars recommend this to EVERYONE!
I think this book is crucial reading for any person who believes we have a functioning criminal justice system in this country. Read more
Published on September 26, 2005 by marianita

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