Thank you to NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book. I found this book very interesting, both the topic and the authors/researchers who wrote the book. My heart went out to the women who were held against their will at so many establishments that purported to want to help women. Reading and learning about history is important and there are parts of this book that will stay with me, especially the statement towards the end of the book that "This project also affirmed what we knew intimately, a nonviolent woman-run correctional facility serving women is imaginary" (Michelle Daniel Jones, 2023). I admire the authors for their perseverance in writing this book, despite being faced with many challenges while doing so. Their lived experiences contribute so much insight to this topic.

Absolutely amazing book. This will definitely go on my abolition recommendation list and I already bought my own copy

The Indiana Women’s Prison History Project beat the odds to make this book happen. Many administrators tried to silence these incarcerated female scholars. The societal purpose of prison was supposed to rehabilitate prisoners this book highlights the history of prisons in Indiana. The problems of these prisons and current prisons is that they don’t succeed in rehabilitation. The authors of this book had to rely on outsiders to help them with research. They were denied access to documents and books. They had to negotiate computer time and lacked internet access. They had to deal with administrative changeovers that tried to squash the project and their spirits but this is a story that needed to be told. This book is really two books in one; the story of the authors rising above their situation and the history of women’s institutions in Indiana. Far more than of interest to Hoosiers this book will help readers empathize with women who have found themselves in a situation with no good choices and the fortitude it takes change.

Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for the eARC.

Reading about incarceration is one of the most eye opening and devastating experiences. The Indiana Women's Prison History Project has put together a phenomenal, albeit heartwrenching story of the history of women's prisons, the terrible things that have happened in women's prisons, as well as carved in their own experiences - and rightfully so.

I don't have the right words for this nonfiction triumph. I implore all to give it a read. You should understand what is/has happened in prisons and you need to hear it from these women.

I'm DNFing this but giving 5 stars for fairness. This is not what I was expecting, in that it is essentially a thesis, including methodology etc. It reads like one too, with so much of the prologue listing so many names of people that ordinarily will appear on acknowledgements. I have read non fiction before and was expecting something entirely different to this. I know it is an uncorrected version, but there are also so many typographical errors and hyphens randomly between words that it just made it too difficult to read. Thank you for the opportunity to read this nevertheless. I will not post a review on my socials because I didn't get past the methodology.

A little slow, but overall very informative. I loved it! I especially liked how they showed that most issues always stem from capitalism.

It took me a while to get going with this book but once I did, I pretty much read it in one sitting, and I did not see time fly. That first line might seem like a strange way to start a review for an history book, but this book is a lot more than pure history, but it is also well documented history (peep that bibliography) delivered in a way that is anything but dry.

I remember when I was in school and we were told that we should never research something that affects us personally because we might have blind spots, this book makes almost entirely the opposite point, I liked that. I feel like I have to point out that I thought there was a great deal of humanity in how the authors treat all of their subjects, even when the people they talk about are deeply unsympathetic.

I found it particularly interesting how the authors showed that there was always a capitalistic aim that superseded any actual moral imperative that might have been claimed by the people who created carceral institutions, not that I was surprised by it, I just really thought the way it was explained and documented was great.

This is fascinating historical document. It's hard to read the entire text as if it's a book but for insight into prison, prisoners and the prison industrial complex this is a worthwhile text.