Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters)

Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters)
by Wally Lamb

Couldn't Keep It to Myself:  Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters)
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $8.00
You Save: $6.95 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.49 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Wally Lamb
Edition: Paperback
Published: 2004-02
ISBN: 006059537X
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Harper Perennial

Book Reviews of Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters)

Book Review: Honest and fascinating stories.
Summary: 5 Stars

Can't put it down since it arrived. already on the waiting list for the follow- up. Great stories written without excuses , just explanations about how and why they got to this point . If you've never felt any sympathy about someone being incarcerated , this might make you feel differently.

Summary of Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters)

Any book that can give voice to the voiceless should be celebrated. No one feels this more strongly than Wally Lamb, editor of Couldn't Keep It to Myself, a collection of stories by 11 women imprisoned in the York Correctional Institution in Connecticut. Teacher and novelist Lamb was invited to head a writing workshop at York Correctional Institution in 1999. His somewhat reluctant acceptance soon turned into steadfast advocacy once the women in his charge began to tell their stories. Lamb maintains that there are things we need to know about prison and prisoners: "There are misconceptions to be abandoned, biases to be dropped." However, as heartfelt as his appeal is, nothing speaks more convincingly in this book than the stories themselves.

Those collected here are disturbing and horrific. They reveal, often in graphic detail, the worst kind of abuse: incest, drug addiction, spousal violence, parental neglect, or incompetence. They're also testimony to what social workers and health care professionals have confirmed for years--that those who populate our prisons are often victims first themselves. Thus, the telling of these stories serves as a form of therapy. They are also sad accounts of the brutalities many suffer, yet few discuss: "One day I figured out a dying little girl lived inside of me, so I threw her a lifeline in the form of paper and pen." Considering the degradation the contributors have experienced both in and outside prison, the courage, candor, and honesty with which they speak truly make these stories, as difficult as they are to read, "victories against voicelessness--miracles in print." --Silvana Tropea


In a stunning work of insight and hope, New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb once again reveals his unmatched talent for finding humanity in the lost and lonely and celebrates the transforming power of the written word.

For several years, Lamb has taught writing to a group of women prisoners at York Correctional Institution in Connecticut. In this unforgettable collection, the women of York describe in their own words how they were imprisoned by abuse, rejection, and their own self-destructive impulses long before they entered the criminal justice system. Yet these are powerful stories of hope and healing, told by writers who have left victimhood behind.

In his moving introduction, Lamb describes the incredible journey of expression and self-awareness the women took through their writing and shares how they challenged him as a teacher and as a fellow author. Couldn't Keep It to Myself is a true testament to the process of finding oneself and working toward a better day.

Women Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in My Favorite Books
A Clockwork Orange (Norton Paperback Fiction) ImageA Clockwork Orange (Norton Paperback Fiction)
by Anthony Burgess
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1986-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops: $13.95
The Cider House Rules ImageThe Cider House Rules
by John Irving
Ballantine Books; Published: 1997-06-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.51
Price in other shops: $14.95
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier ImageA Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by Ishmael Beah
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2007-02-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.86
Price in other shops: $22.00
The Kite Runner (Riverhead Essential Editions) ImageThe Kite Runner (Riverhead Essential Editions)
by Khaled Hosseini
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2005-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops: $16.00
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster ImageInto Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
Anchor; Published: 1999-10-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: $14.95
True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall ImageTrue Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall
by Mark Salzman
Vintage; Published: 2004-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops: $14.95
She's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club) ImageShe's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club)
by Wally Lamb
Pocket; Published: 1998-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops: $7.99
Couldn't Keep It to Myself:  Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters) ImageCouldn't Keep It to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters)
by Wally Lamb
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.70
Price in other shops: $14.95
Stones from the River ImageStones from the River
by Ursula Hegi
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1995-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.65
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Time Traveler's Wife ImageThe Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
Harvest Books; Published: 2004-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.73
Price in other shops: $14.00
Similar Books and other products
A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father ImageA Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father
by Augusten Burroughs
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.69
Price in other shops: $24.95
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx ImageRandom Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx
by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Scribner; Published: 2004-01-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: $14.95
Drowning Ruth: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club) ImageDrowning Ruth: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
by Christina Schwarz
Ballantine Books; Published: 2001-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.96
Price in other shops: $14.95
Lucky : A Memoir ImageLucky : A Memoir
by Alice Sebold
Published: 2002-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops: $11.95
The Only Girl in the Car ImageThe Only Girl in the Car
by Kathy Dobie
Delta; Published: 2004-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.81
Price in other shops: $15.00
Black and Blue (Oprah's Book Club) ImageBlack and Blue (Oprah's Book Club)
by Anna Quindlen
Delta; Published: 2000-02-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.79
Price in other shops: $15.00
Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood ImageSickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood
by Julie Gregory
Bantam; Published: 2004-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.08
Price in other shops: $13.00
She's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club) ImageShe's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club)
by Wally Lamb
Pocket; Published: 1998-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.22
Price in other shops: $7.99
I Know This Much Is True: A Novel (P.S.) ImageI Know This Much Is True: A Novel (P.S.)
by Wally Lamb
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.56
Price in other shops: $16.95
I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison ImageI'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison
by Wally Lamb, I'll Fly Away Contributors
Harper; Published: 2007-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops: $25.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories