Orange Is the New Black - Piper Kerman

Another mixed-feelings book. Something in the author's tone reminded me too much of this book and also this book; the author's insane level of privilege was just layered on too thick for me. She tells us over and over and over again about her many many visitors, and how much her family loves her and supports her no matter what, and that perfect strangers (friends of friends of her wonderful friends) sent her heartwarming letters and boxes bulging with books, and how NO ONE thinks she (an expensively educated blonde white girl) looks like she belongs in prison, etc. Prison sounds awful, no doubt about it, and it's clear that drug-related sentencing desperately needs reform in the US. However, in my opinion this message gets lost because all we really hear about is how successful the author is at prison life. Everyone wants to be her best bud! No one ever rips her off or gets one over on her! She even loses so much weight (because she spends a lot of time running on the prison's track, doing yoga, etc.) that her tons of visitors rave about how nice and skinny she is! 

The last straw for me was when she went on about how angry she was at the woman who got her into the prison predicament. That would be fine, if this woman had hoodwinked her or something - but she willingly participated in drug smuggling and money laundering. So what is there to be angry about? You knew what you were doing was illegal, and didn't care until it caught up with you.

You know what - I confess that this type of thing makes me irrationally angry because I was raised in the kind of "family" where the smallest mistake resulted in all h3ll breaking loose. For example, I frequently received an hours-long screaming fit followed by days or weeks of the "silent treatment" because I did something "horrendous" like loaning a school friend less than $1 for a snack. I would NEVER have received ANY support from these people had I been busted for shoplifting a 50 cent item, let alone being indicted by the Feds for drug-related charges. So yes, I bring a lifetime of bitterness to books where people have what I never will. 

Sorry, readers, I apologize for this outburst.