"Step inside the sisterhood of the women with men behind bars."
Reviewed by Lynn Cunningham
Posted January 29, 2012
Romance Contemporary
Meet the heroines of WOMEN OUTSIDE THE WALLS. These women
are all brought together through one avenue: Their husbands
are all in the same prison. First, there's Alma. Her husband, Charlie, is in prison for
murder. At first that sounds terrible, but there's a story
behind this that makes you see that everything isn't so cut
and dried as it may seem at first. Alma has been in love
with Charlie since she was 16 and he was 23. But he knew he
was too old for her and he went away so he could avoid
making a mistake with her. Abandoned by her mother in favor
of a boyfriend that didn't want kids around, she was taken
in by a neighbor that helped her get through the next couple
of years until she graduated from high school. That's when
Alma found that she had a talent for exotic dancing. It was
at the end of one of her performances in a high end strip
club one night that she was reconnected with Charlie, quite
by accident. The next thing she knows, Alma's pregnant and
Charlie runs again, at least temporarily. They do end up
together as a family and all is well until Charlie gets in
trouble. Next is Kitty. She's a woman of wealth and social standing.
Her husband, Edward, is imprisoned for a white collar crime
and she's simply not equipped to handle it. However, she
does take herself to the prison on visiting day to see him.
He agrees to see her once and that's only to tell her to get
a divorce and make a new life for herself and their
children. After that, even though Kitty comes faithfully on
every visiting day, he refuses to see her. Then there's Hattie. She's a proud, African American woman
with a talent for cleaning, a head for math and a heart of
gold. Her husband, Joe, doesn't belong in prison. He's only
there because he's protecting his little brother. But Hattie
is counting the days until her Joe gets out and can come
home to her and their kids. Joe loves Hattie and they both
look forward to that day. These women all come together in the waiting room and then
visitor's room at the prison while waiting to visit their
men. They all have one thing in common and that's the fact
that they love their men. In the process of this shared
experience, they become connected in a way that no one else
would ever understand. Life goes on in this way until the day that a tragic event
takes place that will involve them all even more. Things may
not end as anyone expects. Told in both the present and past tenses, WOMEN OUTSIDE THE
WALLS offers a bittersweet look into the lives of women that
love incarcerated men. There's laughter and tears but, most
of all, there's the strong emotional bond these women share. This is an honest book, which means that it's not always a
happy book. It will touch your heart in ways that you
wouldn't expect and is a book well worth spending the time
to read. You'll come away with a new respect for women in
this situation and a bit more understanding of why they
continue supporting the men they love, no matter what.
SUMMARY
Alma, Kitty and Hattie have one thing in common. The men
they love and married are in prison.
This is an interesting and unique topic. Women who marry
regular guys, have children, and work jobs. Then their men
make one bad decision that leads their women to
serving ‘hard time’ on the outside.
Wives visit their men behind bars every day wondering how
their lives brought them to this place. This story focuses
on three women. Alma is an exotic dancer who seems to be a
bit of a nitwit. But on closer inspection we realize that
she is doing the best that she can.
Hattie is a hard working African American with four
children who works long hours to keep her family together.
Then there is Kitty, a wealthy socialite, who in spite of
the shame and embarrassment of going to a prison where her
husband refuses to see her, doggedly visits every week.
In a series of flash backs we explore the lives of these
women before their men were incarcerated; when they lived
normal lives with their husbands and children. The plot
explodes when one of their daughters disappears and an
inmate makes a desperate move towards freedom.
ExcerptPrologue
Reno, Nevada
1992
Scorching, desert sun soaked into the roof of the mobile
homes, the aluminum so old and weathered that there was no
reflection. Heat shimmered off the trailers, the rusted out
cars parked in the weeds, and even the dirt. An abandoned
tricycle laid on its side, the red paint worn away and one
wheel missing.
A young girl bolted out the front door of one of the
older trailers and scrambled down the four wooden steps to
the road.
"You get back here, ya little bitch!" a male voice
bellowed from inside.
The girl sauntered down the street between other mobile
homes just like hers. A jaunty baseball cap shielded her
face from the blinding light. Her sandals flapped on the
hot pavement. She wore pristine white short shorts and a
pink sleeveless blouse tied off at the waist.
As far as the eye could see were rust streaked, silver
trailers with faded trim, red dirt and black sticky
pavement with not a shrub or a flower in sight. This was
her life and she couldn't wait to get out.
The few damp tendrils that had escaped her hat sparkled
with fire where the sun touched them. Even though Alma had
just turned sixteen, her body had blossomed into that of
a full grown beautiful woman. As she walked away she
muttered to herself.
It'll be a cold day in you-know-where before I take
orders from one of Mom's boyfriends. How can she stand
them? Ugh! You'll never catch me settling for some low
life boyfriend. I don't take guff off nobody. Especially
not from some lousy, drunken, pig of a step-father,
or ‘uncle' or whatever the heck Mom's calling this one.
Alma was concentrating on where she was going and what
her future might hold when a deep voice called out.
"Hey, Lady Bug! Where you off to in such a hurry?"
Alma's head snapped up and when she recognized the voice
calling from behind a screen door, a smile lit up her face.
She slowed her angry march as she came up to the door of
the neighboring trailer, accenting the sway of her hips.
"Hey, Charlie!" Alma purred. "Just goin' for a stroll;
wanna come along?"
"Sure, lemme get my beer." the man replied as he stepped
back into his door and almost instantly reappeared. He
joined Alma in the middle of the street and they began to
walk. The man was in his early twenties, and what he lacked
in height, he made up for in physique.
He was unbelievably handsome, with shaggy, light brown
hair that just touched the collar of his shirt. His cobalt
blue eyes, with silver flecks, sparkled when he looked at
her. As they walked down the middle of the road, Alma's
smile had slowly faded and she appeared deep in thought.
"Whas' up? You're awful serious today."
"It's nothin'." Alma said."Come on now, tell Charlie
what's buggin' ya," he replied.
"It's just that creep my Mom's got livin' with us. What
a loser!" Once Alma started the floodgates seemed to open.
Charlie was her best friend and always listened, really
listened to her.
"He lays around all day drinkin' beer while she goes
out to work. Then when she comes home he claims he was out
lookin' for a job. She has a few beers with him and then
the arguing begins. I don't know why she keeps pickin'
these losers." She sighed.
"She moves one of ‘em in, pays the bills, and supports
the bum. In the end it's always the same; they fight every
night and finally he smacks her around and she kicks ‘im to
the curb. I am never gonna' have a boy friend like that!
I've got plans, big plans, believe you me!"
Charlie stopped in the road and Alma walked a few steps
before she realized he wasn't beside her anymore. She
stopped and looked around.
"What?" she asked.
"He's not botherin' you, is he?"
"What'd ya mean?"
"He's not touchin' ya?"
"Ha! That'll be the day! Just let ‘im try somethin'
like that! I'll kill him!"
"You sure?" Charlie insisted.
"Wha'd you care?" she asked.
Charlie scowled at her. "I thought we were friends,
Alma. Friends look out for friends."
"Well, thanks, but you don't need to worry. He wouldn't
dare try anything like that. Besides, he's not my type."
"Oh, really? And what would be your type be, at the wise
ol' age of fifteen?" Charlie laughed.
"Sixteen!" she corrected him. "Last week and you
know it. Anyway, my type is none of your beeswax."
"Okay, okay, don't get your knickers...." Charlie
cleared his throat realizing what he had been about to say.
I've got no right to refer to a young girl's knickers in
any context. "Ah....I mean...don't get all mad and
everything. I was just wondering."
He paused, thinking about her turning
sixteen. "So...how does that old saying go? ‘Sweet sixteen
and never been kissed.' Would that describe you?"
Alma blushed at how close Charlie was to the truth. Why
does he only see a child when he looks at me? What I want
is for him to realize that I'm a woman now and that he's my
type. How can I convince him of that when he's with
Cassandra? She wondered to herself. How can I compete with
a tall, willowy blonde waitress who works a real job at the
diner? I have to do something. (c)
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