Really enjoyed this book especially on audio! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and listen. I will definitely be recommending this one!

I tried about 20% of this one but it just wasn't working for me- I was kind of bored listening to the early childhood stuff - after talking with some trusted sources, I don't think this book is for me.

This was a really good memoir! I really liked the parallel chapters of her upbringing versus her current/present situation and how you see the tracks converge as you get further into the book. This was also a really great examination of female incarceration, the opioid epidemic and competitive sports. The voice is unflinchingly honest and gives the reader a lot to think about.

First of all, thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook prior to release.

While I have a great amount of respect for the author for being brave enough to be so vulnerable, I don't think I was the target audience for this book.

I think many people will resonate with a lot of her views.

The audio performance was perfect!

This will be available June 7th!

Thank you so much @stmartinspress or the gifted advance reading copy and @macmillianaudio for the advance listening copy of Corrections in Ink.

This memoir, written and narrated by Keri Blakinger follows a decade in her life beginning as a teen when she was figure skating competitively and into her drug use that eventually landed her in jail. She spent two years in jails and prisions in New York State, meeting so many people and learning all their stories. After her release she became a reporter bring light to many issues that are often unseen.

I learned a lot from this memoir, and I think that was one of the goals of it. The difference between jails and prisons is one fact that sticks out (I like knowing details like this), and greatly appreciated the way the Blakinger tackled the issues that can exist in the systems.

She is very open about her truths, addiction, eating disorders, and homelessness stand out as major themes. Her open ness really helped me connect with the story ,I couldn't stop listening and finished it in a few days.

I highly recommend this one, especially the audio because books narrated by their authors are truly the best as audio books.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of Corrections in Ink by Keri Blakinger.

Keri Blakinger was a competitive figure skater with national acclaim and hopes to go all the way. But when her professional career came to a halt, she fed all of that dogged energy into the streets instead. Hard drugs, sex work and dealing with shady characters makes going to class impossibly hard, until one day she is caught by the wrong person and lands herself in jail.

Much of Keri's story is her experience with the legal system while in prison, as well as all of the people she met along the way, all of them fighting their own battles. But all is not lost for Keri when she is finally able to get herself clean, and eventually she is once again able to use her determination to start a new career again. She becomes a reporter, with a focus on the justice system.

I always feel a little gross giving stars when it comes to a memoir. People are laying out their vulnerable sides and stories for the world to judge, which I always feel deserves an immediate five stars. We as a society grow and change through the stories of others, I deeply believe that.

I very much appreciated Blakinger's story, but I personally struggled to connect with her as I read it. It felt a bit travel-logish and scattered. I never felt like I was able to get close to the nitty gritty of what was really going on with her. However, that might be much more of a me issue, and I still strongly recommend this book, especially to those who have dealt with, or have loved ones dealing with similar issues.

This is a memoir written and narrated by a middle to upper class white woman who had a privileged life and took the drug path up to and including prison time. Following her release, she sees the lateral consequences, recognizes she is entitled, and appears to want to bridge the gap.

This was just okay for me. There is a lot of profanity. Also, explicit sexual acts and positions talked about throughout the book make this a private listen.

I prefer a professional narrator.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to read and review Corrections in Ink.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

Corrections in Ink is a detailed description of what should happen in our prison system. Though not a perfect prisoner (because there is no such thing!), Keri Blakinger describes how she used her time in prison to genuinely rehabilitate herself. At the same time, her book contains its fair share of 'prison drama' a la Orange is the New Black.

I found Corrections in Ink to be a very enlightening and frank memoir, which I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the genre.

𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺!

Powerful, honest, raw, hard to read and fantastic. I wish I had more words to describe this story, it was ugly, beautiful and inspiring. A great memoir!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗸 by Keri Blakinger released June 7, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

How do I go about recommending a memoir looking back on self-destruction and prison? Do I tell you it's also a comeback story, or is that ruining the ending?

Well, for starters, the audiobook is narrated by the author (an easy fave for the genre, love when an author can be in my ears, telling me their story in their voice). As much as I liked reading the text, I kept returning to the audio for this very reason.

Keri Blakinger recounts what led her to be a Cornell student busted with a large amount of heroin, as well as her time in jail and prison. She has enough space from the latter to write about it in a no-holds-barred way, as well as heavily critique it and the system that locks so many people up. "The clack of cell keys does not teach you remorse. The clash of a steel door does not bring you redemption. There is no soundtrack here for that. If you want one, you’ll have to write it yourself.”

Blakinger's white, and I appreciated the several times throughout that she acknowledged systemic racism. She's queer and while I'd have liked more in the book on homophobia and biphobia in prison, she recently wrote about that for NBC News.

I'm going to leave the ending of the book for you to find out, but suffice it to say, I loved it. I had to stop myself from bursting into tears - happy tears, finally tears, these-battles-shouldn't-exist-but-I'm-so-grateful-you're-fighting-them tears.


Content warnings: disordered eating (bulimia and anorexia), drug use and addiction, self-harm, suicide attempt, homelessness, sexual harassment, underage sex work, rape and victim blaming, sudden and unexpected miscarriage, armed robbery, descriptions of time in prison (including abuse and inhumane conditions)

Keri Blakinger seemingly had it all, she once had a promising figure skating path in front of her and was accepted into Cornell but she let it slip away as she spiraled into drug addiction. Corrections in Ink offers a glimpse into one young woman's self-destructive/sabotaging ways which lead to a decade of uninterrupted hard drug use and ultimately incarceration. The story weaves together her time spent in jail along with her back story and her life after prison (she was accepted back at Cornell and now often writes about the inequities/failures of prison as an institution). Blakinger acknowledges the privilege of being a white woman and often wonders how her path would have changed multiple times if she had been a person of color. Check this one out if you liked Orange is the New Black.

I love a memoir and listening to the author tell their story is like nothing else. Keri takes us through such a compelling exploration of her absolute highs and lows. I felt like chatting about this with anyone that would listen to me while reading. Keri is very self aware, hopeful and such a bright light to those needed a second chance. I’ll definitely be recommending this to fellow readers.

In this memoir, Keri Blakinger shares her story from figure skating, to heroin addiction, to prison and how she finally found her voice as an investigative journalist exposing the broken justice system she experienced.

This was a compelling memoir written with so much raw emotions and honesty. It was heartbreaking yet uplifting. The addiction part was scary and at times I find this book was difficult to read due to the topics discussed in this memoir. It was just emotional.

Overall, this was an inspiring and a beautifully written memoir. The audiobook was narrated by Keri herself and I enjoyed her narration.



Pub. Date: June 7th, 2022

***Thank you MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for this gifted listening copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Keri Blakinger for an ARC audiobook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Trigger warning: substance use, sexual assault, prison, eating disorders, suicidal ideations

Like:
- The author is her real authentic self, even when discussing difficult experiences
- It’s not the glamorized or typical successful child to train wreck adult, story that so much of media like to sensationalize for views, but the real honest reality of living with these struggles day to day

Love:
- That it’s the author herself narrating the audiobook
- The power of journalism and its role in justice
- Keri used her not so great life experiences to make the world and prison especially a better place


Wish that:
- She would have gotten more mental health help as a child and young adult so she didn’t have to suffer as much

Dislike:
- Some parts became a little repetitive and boring


Overall, a good book about many very important topics that are currently affecting our society. The memoir format really allows the important messages to hit home much more than a traditional non fiction book would. Very real, raw and honest and I commend Keri for sharing her story with the world.

A fantastic memoir (narrated by the author) that dives into addiction, mental health and the broken prison system. Keri openly discusses her life experiences leading up to her time in jail and then her trajectory after her release. I love stories about second chances and forgiveness and this one was powerful, raw and wonderfully written.

One of the most powerful, raw and honest memoirs I have had the pleasure of reading.
Keri bared her soul and all that she endured in this captivating book. Her detailed accounts and the uncensored glimpse into the prison system just further shows how important prison reform really is and how a second chance can really change the entire trajectory of your life.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This audiobook needs to be on everyone's #TBR list. The fact that it is read by the author, Keri Blakinger adds to the authenticity of the memoir.

Keri pulls no punches, and doesn't sugarcoat her experience of being caught, arrested and sentenced to prison time for heroin possession --- a lot of heroin.

Keri talks candidly about the addiction that landed her in jail. She is clean now and I am confident she will remain that way.

It is almost impossible for me to explain just how much I enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

The things Keri saw, and experienced while in prison led to her current career as a justice reform advocate. If you listen to this audiobook, you will find that you just might want to assist her in her quest for humane treatment of inmates in the Corrections system of the United States.

I guarantee that after hearing Keri's story, your eyes will be opened and you will find yourself cheering her on.

I rate this audiobook as 5 out of 5 Stars. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Add this book to your #ToRead book list today. You will not be sorry.

I will be posting this review as well as photos and links on my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com

An absolutely fantastic memoir about addiction, mental health, prison, and redemption. Keri’s journey is heartbreaking but beautifully written. It was particularly interesting to read her journey from prisoner to a journal who reported on the Texas incarceration system. The audio is read by Keri, herself, and I could not recommend it more.

Taunting, horrific, tragic, insightful memoir.

Being an empath, I do not ever read books on addiction or prison life. I tend to get very depressed if I do but there was something about the description of this memoir that made me want to read and review it.

Keri Blakinger was way too young when she started to experience the tragedies that she describes in this memoir.
Professional ice-skating was the one thing in her life that made her feel alive so when her skating partner left her, she spiraled down into the dark world of hard-core drug use which had helped fill the void in her life.

She was surely very bright as she was able to get through most of her college classes at Cornell even while she was high on drugs. In her senior year though she stumbled, and police found her with a Tupperware container of goodies which put her in prison.

Keri wasn't one to back down even though she had poor self-esteem, and this hurled her into numerous prisons, one worse than the next. Her vivid descriptions made me cringe, ache, get angry, understand white privilege, and the injustice of it, and much more.

The author narrated the audiobook, and this is one book that MUST be listened to if you are able. I was deeply affected as I listened to the anger and frustration in her voice when she describes the injustices and the racist and inhumane treatment of the inmates. It appeared as though she was sitting in the room with me as she told her tragic story.
I found myself thinking that she would be a great advocate for prison reform. I had a feeling that this was where she would end up.

As I concluded the audiobook, I realized that I had goosebumps on my arms and a pounding heart. There was a happy ending!
Keri was accepted back to Cornell (although she had to take off-campus classes as she wasn't allowed back on the campus) where she earned her degree. She finally had a chance to make the world hear her voice as she exposed the widespread corruption and injustices in the prison system.

Even if you steer away from addiction memoirs, you need to give this one a go. I can't pick up another book yet as I'm still affected by Keri's writing. This one will stay with me for some time. Kudos, Keri!

My thanks to #NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and to Keri for the ARC of this incredible memoir. This opinion is my own