{"product_id":"9781849351751","title":"Angels with Dirty Faces: Three Stories of Crime, Prison, and Redemption","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"There was a time I believed prisons existed to rehabilitate people, to make our communities safer. . . . When I saw for the first time (but not the last) a mother sobbing and clutching her son when visiting hours were up, only to be physically pried off and escorted out by guards, I knew nothing about that made me safer. This is the heart of this country's prison system. And the prison system has become the heart of America.\"—Walidah Imarisha, from the introduction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is no romanticized tale of crime and punishment. The three lives in this creative nonfiction account are united by the presence of actual harm—sometimes horrific violence. Walidah Imarisha, a sexual assault survivor, brings us behind prison walls to visit her incarcerated brother Kakamia and his fellow inmate Jimmy \"Mac\" McElroy, a member of the Irish gang the Westies. Together they explore the questions: People can do unimaginable damage to one another—and then what? What do we as a society do? What might redemption look like?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImarisha doesn't flinch as she guides us through the complexities and contradictions of transformative justice, eschewing theory for a much messier reality. The result is a nuanced and deeply personal analysis that allows readers to connect emotionally with the stories she shares, and the people behind them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWalidah Imarisha \u003c\/b\u003eis a writer, organizer, educator, and spoken-word artist. She is the co-editor of \u003ci\u003eOctavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories From Social Justice Movements \u003c\/i\u003eand author of the collection of poetry \u003ci\u003eScars\/Stars.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AK Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47136134037744,"sku":"9781849351751","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781849351751_p0.jpg?v=1769895435","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781849351751","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}