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Acknowledgments
- University of Illinois Press
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Acknowledgments In 2008, I was in the midst of writing a book about the reading practices of women in prison. Ninety-four women—from the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, in Raleigh; the Northeast Pre-Release Center, in Cleveland; andtheStateCorrectionalInstitutionatMuncy,Pennsylvania—had shared with me their stories and reflections, and I was feeling overwhelmed by my efforts to include all of the women’s powerful narratives in my book. Avery Gordon therefore suggested that I write two books instead of one, including a volume composed solely of interviews with womenprisoners. The Story Within Usistheculminationofmytwo-bookjourney,andIamdeeplygratefultoAvery for her wise suggestion. Both Sian Hunter and the organizers of the 2011 Black Women’sIntellectualHistoryConferenceofferedhelpfulsuggestionsforpursuing publication. My editor, Larin McLaughlin, and the anonymous reviewers at the University of Illinois Press helped to make this book a reality, and I am thankful for their vision and their understanding of the project’s importance. I offer my deepest thanks to the ninety-four women who generously shared with me their time, words, and wisdom. Although The Story Within Us includes only eleven of these women’s narratives, I hope that it conveys how much I learned from each of them. Their ability to find meaning, humor, and beauty in the midst of pain continually moved and amazed me. Thanks are also due to the penal employees who supervised my research, including Ann Mullin, Valerie Aden, Richard Shuler, and Sandy Weisner. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University generously supported this work by offering me a year-long research fellowship. I have also received crucial financial support as a faculty member at the University of Michigan, from the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. My graduate research assistant, Kathryne Bevilacqua, offered insightful feedback on drafts of the material, as did the members of my writing group: Anne Curzan, Anne Gere, and Mary Schleppegrell. Linda Meakes also deserves thanks for her careful transcriptions of the interviews. Finally, I am profoundly grateful to Mary Anderson and to my husband, Michael Carlin, both of whom have shown me what it means to honor and cultivate one’s own and others’ stories. x Acknowledgments [54.159.116.24] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 06:51 GMT) The Story Within Us ...