“The focus of Women’s Storybook Project of Texas is to maintain the relationship between incarcerated mothers and their children, and to develop a love of reading in those kids. “The project is in 10 women’s prisons...
“My mom and dad had 11 kids. I’m the baby. I’m 38 years old. I’m single. I’m homosexual. And I’m the only one who doesn’t have any kids. Altogether, there are like 65 grandchildren. “I fight...
“You see where you found me. I’m here at a basketball court, shooting hoops, listening to music. In the past, I probably would have been at a friend’s house, figuring out how I’m going to make...
“Before I went to state jail, I knew that two of these tattoos were affiliated with gangs. The dog paw print is for the Bloods. The star is for Tango Blast. But I was never gang...
“In my 24 years, I’ve been to state jail twice. The first time, I was 16 or 17. My mother had three other kids to worry about. I started hanging around with the wrong people. Started...
“By the time I was about 25, I started running around with people who did things that were just unheard of when I was growing up. That’s how I got into drugs. Except for the four...
“We got divorced in 1994, and it was like everything hit the fan. Instead of bucking up and doing the right things, I fell off. That’s when I really got into the alcohol, drugs and stuff....
“I used to be a pimp. I used to be a drug dealer. I used to be a gangbanger. I used to be a robber; it didn’t matter whether it was banks or other drug dealers....
“I’m not a violent person. It was just a bad situation that I misinterpreted. My anxiety level was so high it was unreal. I wasn’t sleeping. I had heart palpitations. I felt scared all the time....
“I was in an open setting for the last 10 to 15 years in prison. It’s like you’re living in a glass house. You do anything, everybody knows about it. There was absolutely no privacy. “That...
