I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison

pleased

This book, and its partner "Couldn't Keep It To Myself" by the same author, is at times tough and uplifting. These are essays that women have worked on in a writing class inside the prison. They are their personal stories, which usually reveal so much about their circumstances and decisions that led them to incarceration.Some of it is rough to read, such as troubled family lives and things happening to them that we don't like to think about. You get a chance to see the real consequences of poor treatment and bad circumstances. It's must-see information so we can all be more empathetic and alert when it comes to how we treat loved ones, watch over our neighborhood, and care for the society at large.But beyond the painful histories, these essays reveal how these women are searching inside themselves to identify and correct troublesome thoughts and habits, and rehabilitating themselves in the process. In this respect it is very inspiring and uplifting. Most of us go through our days without thinking much about the deep things. In these essays we can follow the path of discovery with these women, some further along than others, and the progress they have made even in spite of their handicapped backgrounds and current incarceration. It can't help but motivate the reader to higher aspirations with his own circumstances.I could recommend these two books to anyone who is interested in: child care, teaching, psychology, dealing with challenges, religion, or caring about our fellow man.As an aside, I bought these books because I responded to an ad in our local paper looking for "weekend puppy-raisers". This prison has a program of training inmates to raise puppys for future life as an assistance dog to a handicapped person. The inmates work hard for the privilege, and dedicate themselves wholly to making the ideal dog for its future needy owner. On weekends, the dogs go home with a family to get socialized to life outside the prison walls. I signed up as a weekend family, solely because I missed having a dog, and with my work schedule, a full-time dog was impossible. What I didn't expect, was that the relationship with the inmate raising the pup would mean at least as much to me as the pup. The transformation that the woman is undergoing, as she works on herself and learns more about how her actions impact others and her own future, is so inspiring. I was surprised to find "real people" in prison, and so I got these two books to learn more about who they are and what led them to that point. We all have less-than-ideal life histories and personal choices, it's just a matter of degree, and I've found this helps me open my eyes to a world I avoided even thinking about - troubled families and people living in rough circumstances or making bad choices. It's good take off the blinders.I'll post the same review on the companion book.

I came across Wally Lamb's first book written by the women incarcerated at York Prison when I was a new volunteer at Greenhaven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, NY. Although I was working on an individual basis with the men there, Lamb's book motivated me to take a new path with my students at Greenhaven. He inspired me to help the men write their own "stories" about their lives. I also own Lamb's second book, I'LL FLY AWAY and have read portions of it to my classes. One of my students encouraged me to write a personal letter to one of the women in the book. She is the author of "A Gift". For the last year now, we have been corresponding and I have visited her 4 times. She has one of the longest sentences at York: 50 years with no chance of parole. I think what Lamb has accomplished in publishing these two remarkable books is to educate people like us about women like those at York. They have made some poor choices but they are also victims themselves--in many cases of horrific abuse in all its forms. I am proud to own these books and Lamb mailed me an autographed copy of the second book~encouraging me to continue my work at Greenhaven.

I purchased this book because I was already reading Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much Is True," but had neglected to carry it with me for a long plane trip. That book was not available on Kindle at the time, so I decided to try this one. It did not disappoint. Even for one accustomed to the grittier side of our society (I am an ER doctor in a major city), these stories were eye-openers. They convey, vividly and poignantly, the experiences of incarcerated women, both inside and outside prison. It raises the question: If guidance such as Mr. Lamb's can bring out the intelligence and motivation of this many individuals, why can't we, as a society, remedy the ills that get them into prison in the first place?

Essentially seems like a sequel to Couldn't Keep It to Myself; in fact I sort of felt like I was coming into a party already in progress, where the cliques have already formed and everyone already knows everyone else. I don't really mean that in a snarky way; but I do wish I had read Couldn't Keep It to Myself as this book seems aimed at people who have read that first. At the risk of sounding really heartless, I don't really know what the point of this book is, especially for readers who are unfamiliar with the first book and the story behind its publication and so forth. Perhaps it's all about showing our common humanity, there-for-the-grace-of-whatever, and that sexual abuse and violence lead many women to drugs and financial desperation and maybe we should (we meaning humanity) focus on solving those problems in the first place rather than punishing those who suffer from them. In fact I think the story of the writing program itself and the furor over the publication of the first book would make a great book by itself.

I think Wally Lamb has a quality in his writing that speaks of his ability to capture a woman's voice. He is delicate but TRUE and REAL with this collection. I can literally visualize not only each woman giving her testimony but Lamb's weighing its importance and proper place in this collection. Highly readable but so real that I can read it only in small doses because of the truth of the content and Lamb's handling of the material he collected. For these women to be so honest with him, he had to make them feel SAFE with his handling of their stories.

Good book. How sad that so many women's lives are controlled by Satan and they end up in prison. I commend Wally Lamb for his work with these women. I had just finished Couldn't Keep It to Myself and I think it was better than I'll Fly Away in that the stories were more detailed. The thing I took away from these books is how sad I am for these women. I pray they will all find Jesus Christ as their savior and will find peace and joy knowing no matter what their lives are on this earth, they will be with Christ in heaven for all eternity.

the previous book was so good i thought 2nd would be as good,it was ok but no where as interesting as 1st.prob because this book was really short stories whereas the 1st were short stories but with much more depth and detail.worth buying anyway

A touching collection of real life stories and some lovely poetry, puts you inside the minds of how these women end up in prison and how they cope and better themselves. Would recommend this book, especially if you know someone who's been there.

It was a struggle. I have to be honest: I haven't finished reading it because, as you might expect, I couldn't relate to it in any way.Fortunately for me, life has been more kind.

excellent book

GOOD BOOK