Motherhood

8 Motherhood articles categorized as: Personal Narrative

Mother’s Day Rally Letters

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A series of letters, poems, and notes written by the children of prisoners. Most are directed to their parents.

Pregnancy in Prison: A Personal Story
by Kebby Warner

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In this poignant personal narrative, Kebby Warner shares her experience of pregnancy and childbirth while serving time. Following her story are several documents she wrote to publicize the organization The People Against Court Kidnapping (P.A.C.K.), which she created after her parental rights were terminated and her daughter was put up for adoption.

The Day My Mother Was Sent Away and Mother’s Day Rally Letters
by Wenona Thompson

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In this poem, Thompson discusses her feelings about her mother’s incarceration.

Mother’s Day in Chowchilla
by Sara Olson

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Sara Olson tells the story of the Annual “Get On The Bus” event, uniting women prisoners with our children and loved ones.

Children Do Hard Time for Their Parents’ Crime
by Kim Mikesell

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Kim Mikesell tells the price that children pay when parents are incarcerated.

From Jail to Yale
by Chesa Boudin

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In this first person narrative, Chesa Boudin writes about the fate of children with incarcerated parents and also reflects on the experiences he and a close friend shared growing up with incarcerated parents. While talking about the real life effects of incarceration on family life, Boudin looks at the different paths that he and his childhood friend took in response to their situation.

Letter to a Formerly Incarcerated Mother
by Donnie Belcher

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This letter of reconciliation expresses the complex experience of having an incarcerated mother. Belcher describes both the anger of growing up with her mother in prison and the love that transcends that anger.

Do I Have to Stand for This?
by Kimberly Burke

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Kimberly Burke, a mother in prison tells a story of an interaction while her 7-year old son is visiting What convinces him to not want to come back. She uses her experience to talk about the large numbers of prisoners that never get a visitor. The enemy lines between prisoners and guards create a kind of hostile environment in which no one wants to be apart of.