Melanie N. Burdick is associate professor of English and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning at Washburn University.

The narrative-based inquiry presented here creates an enjoyable reading experience as opposed to the rigid informational style of a textbook. Burdick makes a great effort to incorporate the lens of feminist theory when depicting the lived literacy experiences of inmates. She assesses the impact of traditional forms of research that have historically analyzed data from a masculine perspective, thus silencing women’s voices and romanticizing their experiences. Burdick does an excellent job presenting this qualitative research by acknowledging her own voice and experiences in the preface, indicating her awareness of her own positioning in researching and writing this book. This makes the text more substantial from an academic perspective and produces great respect for the author’s research and transparency. Burdick aims to address the oppression of women and a justice system that contributes to this, fueling stigma and shame. She expertly recounts the profound and remarkable transitioning process of the four women this study addresses. The author makes a valuable contribution to feminist literature with this topic. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefacePart IChapter 1Stories and Sponsors: Narrative Inquiry and Literacy Sponsorship of Formerly Incarcerated WomenChapter 2Literacies of Transitioning, Power, and Owning the Story Chapter 3“Because Our World is Very Small”: Prison Libraries and LibrariansChapter 4Mothering Through Literate Acts: Facebook, Texts, and the “Happiest Thing Ever”Chapter 5Three Dimensional Landscapes of Formerly Incarcerated Women’s Literacy NarrativesPart IIChapter 6 Listening to Diane: One Woman’s Prison to School PipelineChapter 7 Narrating and Owning a College Student IdentityChapter 8 From Finding an Academic Home to “Feeling Untethered”Chapter 9 Opening the Gates: Narratives from Diane’s ProfessorsChapter 10 Seeing Through the Sentences and Into the StoriesBibliographyAbout the Author

Melanie N. Burdick is associate professor of English and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning at Washburn University.

The narrative-based inquiry presented here creates an enjoyable reading experience as opposed to the rigid informational style of a textbook. Burdick makes a great effort to incorporate the lens of feminist theory when depicting the lived literacy experiences of inmates. She assesses the impact of traditional forms of research that have historically analyzed data from a masculine perspective, thus silencing women’s voices and romanticizing their experiences. Burdick does an excellent job presenting this qualitative research by acknowledging her own voice and experiences in the preface, indicating her awareness of her own positioning in researching and writing this book. This makes the text more substantial from an academic perspective and produces great respect for the author’s research and transparency. Burdick aims to address the oppression of women and a justice system that contributes to this, fueling stigma and shame. She expertly recounts the profound and remarkable transitioning process of the four women this study addresses. The author makes a valuable contribution to feminist literature with this topic. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefacePart IChapter 1Stories and Sponsors: Narrative Inquiry and Literacy Sponsorship of Formerly Incarcerated WomenChapter 2Literacies of Transitioning, Power, and Owning the Story Chapter 3“Because Our World is Very Small”: Prison Libraries and LibrariansChapter 4Mothering Through Literate Acts: Facebook, Texts, and the “Happiest Thing Ever”Chapter 5Three Dimensional Landscapes of Formerly Incarcerated Women’s Literacy NarrativesPart IIChapter 6 Listening to Diane: One Woman’s Prison to School PipelineChapter 7 Narrating and Owning a College Student IdentityChapter 8 From Finding an Academic Home to “Feeling Untethered”Chapter 9 Opening the Gates: Narratives from Diane’s ProfessorsChapter 10 Seeing Through the Sentences and Into the StoriesBibliographyAbout the Author

Melanie N. Burdick is associate professor of English and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning at Washburn University.

The narrative-based inquiry presented here creates an enjoyable reading experience as opposed to the rigid informational style of a textbook. Burdick makes a great effort to incorporate the lens of feminist theory when depicting the lived literacy experiences of inmates. She assesses the impact of traditional forms of research that have historically analyzed data from a masculine perspective, thus silencing women’s voices and romanticizing their experiences. Burdick does an excellent job presenting this qualitative research by acknowledging her own voice and experiences in the preface, indicating her awareness of her own positioning in researching and writing this book. This makes the text more substantial from an academic perspective and produces great respect for the author’s research and transparency. Burdick aims to address the oppression of women and a justice system that contributes to this, fueling stigma and shame. She expertly recounts the profound and remarkable transitioning process of the four women this study addresses. The author makes a valuable contribution to feminist literature with this topic. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefacePart IChapter 1Stories and Sponsors: Narrative Inquiry and Literacy Sponsorship of Formerly Incarcerated WomenChapter 2Literacies of Transitioning, Power, and Owning the Story Chapter 3“Because Our World is Very Small”: Prison Libraries and LibrariansChapter 4Mothering Through Literate Acts: Facebook, Texts, and the “Happiest Thing Ever”Chapter 5Three Dimensional Landscapes of Formerly Incarcerated Women’s Literacy NarrativesPart IIChapter 6 Listening to Diane: One Woman’s Prison to School PipelineChapter 7 Narrating and Owning a College Student IdentityChapter 8 From Finding an Academic Home to “Feeling Untethered”Chapter 9 Opening the Gates: Narratives from Diane’s ProfessorsChapter 10 Seeing Through the Sentences and Into the StoriesBibliographyAbout the Author