Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman

Aside from the title, some familiar names like Piper, Crazy Eyes, Larry, Pennsatucky, a guard with a bushy porn-stache, a nun, a yoga lover, and a transgender diva there is not much in the book Orange is the New Black that will also be part of the Netflix series of the same name. This is not to say that the show isn't enjoyable, it is. But the book is so much more!!


In between telling us about her time in Danbury Federal Prison, Piper Kerman, a Smith graduate who made some admittedly bad choices, tells about how much she learned about herself, the kind of person she wants to be, the amazing women who helped her survive prison, and the sad state of a system that does very little if anything to prepare low-level, non-violent, offenders survive after they go home.


If you are expecting the sexy or violent episodes seen in the show you will be sadly disappointed. There was much by way of artistic license taken with the creation of the Netflix series. There are a few familiar incidents in the book but they were highly doctored and sexed up or made more violent for the screen. However, you will find heart and soul in the pages of the real Piper's story. I found her much more likable on paper. Larry was too, as were many of the women she writes about.

And she has a message in her book, the prison system needs serious reform. If you don't already believe that reading her book will make you a believer.

(Finished June 29, 2015)