Memoir Writing in a Women's Prison: Critical Reflection and Real-Life Application in a Corrections Education Program: A Collection of Incarcerated Wom

Incarcerated women historically have prior membership in marginalized communities, resulting in high rates of under-education, unemployment, single parenthood, poverty, intimate partner abuse, and low self-esteem. These 6 week-long book study curricula, grounded in transformative learning theory, is designed to wholeheartedly foster the educational growth of women incarcerated at the Wyoming Women's Center, through development of self-competence and critical thinking. Through engaging, collaborative, and critical exploration of a woman's memoir entitled Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, incarcerated women reflected on their lived experiences and their place in family and society. This self-inquiry learning, coupled with empathic group discussions, brought awareness to shared experiences, social struggles, personal conflicts, and reflective thinking, culminating with each woman authoring her own memoir. The memoirs of eleven incarcerated women are the foundation of this book. This collaborative work between University of Wyoming (UW) students/faculty and Wyoming Women's Center (WWC) student-inmates included the draft, revision, and preparation of incarcerated women's memoir, written at the conclusion of the book study. The UW student editors collaborated in the memoir writing project with the goal of supporting Social Justice in prison education. The authors wrote their memoirs for publication with the hope of helping young girls learn from their mistakes. This work was carried out in the summer of 2018. This class brought together ten UW students and faculty to help eleven WWC student-inmates write a memoir for publication. The memoirs were approved for publication by Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC). The inmate authors signed letters of consent for the publication of their memoir. The names of the authors and subjects in their memoirs have been changed to protect the privacy of all individuals.The proceeds will benefit Wyoming Pathways from Prison (WPfP), a higher education program developed for incarcerated men and women in Wyoming.