Reading Is My Window - by Megan Sweeney (Paperback)

About the Book

Reading Is My Window: Books and the Art of Reading in Women s Prisons"

Book Synopsis

Drawing on extensive interviews with ninety-four women prisoners, Megan Sweeney examines how incarcerated women use available reading materials to come to terms with their pasts, negotiate their present experiences, and reach toward different futures.

Foregrounding the voices of African American women, Sweeney analyzes how prisoners read three popular genres: narratives of victimization, urban crime fiction, and self-help books. She outlines the history of reading and education in U.S. prisons, highlighting how the increasing dehumanization of prisoners has resulted in diminished prison libraries and restricted opportunities for reading. Although penal officials have sometimes endorsed reading as a means to control prisoners, Sweeney illuminates the resourceful ways in which prisoners educate and empower themselves through reading. Given the scarcity of counseling and education in prisons, women use books to make meaning from their experiences, to gain guidance and support, to experiment with new ways of being, and to maintain connections with the world.

Review Quotes

An interesting and provocative read. . . . Serves as a call to action.--Feminist Review

Break[s] significant new ground. . . . A most original scholarly work. . . . [Sweeney's] research method and analysis are meticulous; the book is enlivened by the frank and often surprising remarks of her subjects.--Women's Review of Books

In Sweeney's narrative, the autonomy and strength of prison women compel attention and respect. . . . Recommended.--Choice

One of the strengths of the book is Sweeney's desire and ability to listen and to be transformed through the listening. . . .A necessary and unique contribution.--Fellowship magazine

Putting bias aside, Sweeney listens carefully while women explain what the books . . . mean to them.--The Christian Century

Riveting. . . . Reading is My Window is not just a stellar example of the history and ethnography of reading--though it is that. It is also a point of entry into a world with which many Americans have no direct contact. . . . This book represents terrifically important scholarship and compelling, passionate activism, and it deserves a wide readership among people who care about books, and people who care about racism, political economy, justice, social change, and citizenship in the United States.--Books & Culture

Sweeney amplifies voices that are rarely heard and contributes understanding and thought from which ideas for the future can be drawn.--Make/Shift

Sweeny's material is accessible because of her writing style and her ability to give voice to women prisoners...--Magill's Literary Annual

The readership of this book will be far and wide.--Fellowship of Reconciliation

This important book represents a significant contribution to interdisciplinary research focused on women prisoners' reading habits and attempts at self-education and improvement.--Library Journal