Chicago Books to Women in Prison

We’re delighted to share this message from Maya, a good friend of Chicago Books to Women in Prison:

Hope you are all having a wonderful fall. As many of you know, for the last couple of years, I have been writing a book. And now, bizarrely, it actually exists! It’s called Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better, and it is out TODAY (coincidentally, my birthday)!

If you buy it today or anytime during the coming week, I’ll be donating my royalties to Marissa Alexander’s Legal Defense Fund. (Marissa is a Florida survivor of domestic violence who is facing 60 years in prison for firing a warning shot at the wall, to defend herself against her abusive husband.)

So, I have a couple of birthday wishes. I’m hoping you can take these steps, in exchange for my undying love and admiration, which you already have, but still:

1. Buy the book!

You can do that here: amazon.com/Locked-Down-Out-Prison-Doesnt/dp/1626562695
Or here: powells.com/biblio/9781626562691
Or here: womenandchildrenfirst.com/book/9781626562691

2. Spread the word! Email, tweet, Facebook, blog, etc.!
Here’s an image to assist with that.

Thanks so much, everyone!

Love,
Maya

P.S.: Some nice things people said about the book:

“This book has the power to transform hearts and minds…. I turned the last page feeling nothing less than inspired.” —Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

“Maya Schenwar’s stories about prisoners, their families (including her own), and the thoroughly broken punishment system are rescued from any pessimism such narratives might inspire by the author’s brilliant juxtaposition of abolitionist imaginaries and radical political practices.” —Angela Y. Davis, author of Are Prisons Obsolete?

“This moving book makes a very important intervention into both the popular understanding and the political discussions about the devastating impact of mass imprisonment. In her riveting descriptions of what happens to individuals and families caught in the long reach of the prison nation, Schenwar makes a compelling case for prison abolition and reinvestment in communities. This book will change both what we understand about injustice and how we work for more logical and effective solutions.” —Beth E. Richie, author of Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America’s Prison Nation