“Venkatraman has never met a heavy theme she did not like....Borrowing elements of fable, it's told with a recurring sense of awe by a boy whom the world, for most of his life, has existed only in stories.”—New York Times Book Review The author of the award-winning The Bridge Home brings readers another gripping novel set in Chennai, India, featuring a boy who's unexpectedly released into the world after spending his whole life in jail with his mom. Kabir has been in jail since the day he was born, because his mom is serving time for a crime she didn't commit. He's never met his dad, so the only family he's got are their cellmates, and the only place he feels the least bit free is in the classroom, where his kind teacher regales him with stories of the wonders of the outside world. Then one day a new warden arrives and announces Kabir is too old to stay. He gets handed over to a long-lost "uncle" who unfortunately turns out to be a fraud, and intends to sell Kabir. So Kabir does the only thing he can--run away as fast as his legs will take him. How does a boy with nowhere to go and no connections make his way? Fortunately, he befriends Rani, another street kid, and she takes him under her wing. But plotting their next move is hard--and fraught with danger--in a world that cares little for homeless, low caste children. This is not the world Kabir dreamed of--but he's discovered he's not the type to give up. Kabir is ready to show the world that he--and his mother--deserve a place in it.

***Please note: This ebook edition does not contain the photos found in the print edition.*** They were once sweet little girls--sugar and spice, and everything nice. Now they're cold blooded criminals, behind the bars of America's most dangerous prisons--hardened women doing their time. how and why did they cross to the dark side? What makes women kill husbands, lovers, family, and innocent strangers? Step aside and meet: Patty: the prison beauty slaughtered her mother, father, and little brother after falling in love with an evil Svengali twenty years her senior. Michelle: She lovingly tends the flowers on the prison grounds. Only those who know her best know how she kicked her husband to death. Cynthia: A typical St. Louis girl--until she met a jailbird and embarked on a murderous rampage worthy of Natural Born Killers. Author Wensley Clarkson has used his unique, unlimited access to some of America's toughest prisons to reveal the shocking world of female criminals--from their illicit love affairs to race relations, prostitution, protection rackets, drug smuggling, and more. Plus: what happened to notorious criminals Amy Fisher and Pam Smart? Now their tawdry lived behind bars are revealed.

Born Behind Bars is a collection of essays, quotes, journals, prayers and poems compiled over twenty-five years. This book allows you to experience an intimate world of a boy changing into a man. After many years of denial and retreat, Born Behind Bars is a celebration of self identity, forgiveness and acceptance. Through revealing, this up and coming author has found healing. Ultimately discovering that sometimes the only way out, is going within.

From the acclaimed author of Climbing the Stairs comes a fascinating story set on a remote island untouched by time. Uido is ecstatic about becoming her tribe's spiritual leader, but her new position brings her older brother's jealousy and her best friend's mistrust. And looming above these troubles are the recent visits of strangers from the mainland who have little regard for nature or the spirits, and tempt the tribe members with gifts, making them curious about modern life. When Uido's little brother falls deathly ill, she must cross the ocean and seek their help. Having now seen so many new things, will Uido have the strength to believe in herself and the old ways? And will her people trust her to lead them to safety when a catastrophic tsunami threatens? Uido must overcome everyone's doubts, including her own, if she is to keep her people safe and preserve the spirituality that has defined them. Drawing on firsthand experience from her travels to the Andaman Islands, Padma Venkatraman was inspired to write this story after meeting natives who survived the 2004 tsunami and have been able to preserve their unique way of life. Uido's transformation from a young girl to tribal leader will touch both your heart and mind.

"Barry" is a seventeen-year-old single white male. He has blond hair and blue eyes, weighs 150 pounds, and is five feet eleven inches tall. He was arrested in California at age sixteen for assault and robbery. Because he was underage he was initially segregated in a one-man cell while in county jail. Then, upon admission to a state prison recep tion and classification facility, he was housed in a special dormitory for young, inexperienced inmates who would be at risk within the general population. Upon completion of his screening Barry's counselor recommended that he be sent to a penal institution reserved for the younger, more violence-prone, and hard core inmates. Barry said that he felt he would have "prob lems" at the recommended facility, but his counselor replied, "You won't have any problems." Once he arrived, Barry was double-celled with a nineteen-year-old inmate who beat and anally raped him during his first night in the admission unit. Barry's cellmate continued to assault him sexually during the two weeks they were housed together.

More and more women—mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, and sisters—are doing hard prison time all across the United States. Many of them are facing the prospect of years, decades, even lifetimes behind bars. Oddly, there's been little public discussion about the dramatic increase of women in the prison system. What exactly is happening here, and why? The answers are in Women Behind Bars, in which investigative journalist Silja Talvi sheds light on why American girls and women are being locked up at such unprecedented rates. Talvi travels across the country to weave together interviews with inmates, correctional officers, and administrators, providing readers with a glance at the impact incarceration has on our society. With a combination of compassion and critical analysis, Talvi delivers a timely, in-depth analysis of a growing and extremely complicated issue.

Introduction Most women aren't born bitches they are molded into them by unfortunate circumstances. My name is Stormy Weathers and the story I share is not unique. I was born in the slums of Gary, Indiana to a teenage mother and later put up for adoption to an abusive family. After running away from home several times I finally landed on the gritty streets of Detroit city where I met the love of my life Montrellis Jones an ex convicted gangster. The consequences of fast money and hard living would eventually land me behind bars. Roll with me as I desperately struggle to survive the seedy walls of a maximum security women's state prison.

A judge hands down a stretch in a local, state, or federal prison. It’s time for some serious life lessons. With the crime rates soaring in the United States and the prison population growing faster than at any time in American history, staying alive and well—both mentally and physically—is tougher than ever. Behind Bars breaks down the bars on prison survival with a hard look at the realities of incarceration. Learn what it really takes to: • Avoid being sexually abused, stabbed, beaten, or even killed. • Identify deadly prison gangs. • Keep your own attorney from taking advantage of you. • Get edible food and stay as healthy as possible. • Learn the realities and untangle red tape of conjugal visits. • Successfully navigate the complex parole system. • Stay alive during a prison riot.