The Ex-Prisoner's Dilemma: How Women Negotiate Competing Narratives of Reentry and Desistance

Contents

vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part I Becoming an Ex-Offender 1 The Mercy Home and the Discourse of Reentry and Desistance 19 2 Introducing the Women and Their Pathways to Offending 40 3 A Year in the Life: Evolving Perspectives on Reentry and Desistance 56 Part II The Social Context of Reentry 4 Family Dynamics in Reentry and Desistance 81 5 Women’s Chosen Relationships and Their Role in Self-Redefinition 114 6 Education, Employment, and a House of One’s Own: Conventional Markers of Success 140 Conclusion 175 Appendix A: Respondent Characteristics 185 Appendix B: Research Methods 189 Notes 201 References 205 Index 215 ...