The Prisoner's Wife - Hardcover

Bandele, Asha

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684850737 ISBN 13: 9780684850733

Publisher: Scribner, 1999

Synopsis

How did a beautiful, talented college student fall in love with a man serving twenty to life for murder? And why did she marry him? At a time when one in four black men are caught in the web of the criminal justice system, asha bandele shatters the myths of prisoners' wives and tells a story of embracing the beauty of love in the ugliest circumstances and of people's ability to change, to do better, to grow. Whether she is describing her restricted but romantic courtship with Rashid -- when letters were like dates, like "whispers on the slow, blue-light dance floor" -- or riding the bus upstate with the other wives and girlfriends, asha bandele creates haunting images and reflections so powerful and unique that they beg to be reread and savored. At the same time that she recalls the extreme ups and downs that accompany a relationship constantly scrutinized by guards and surveillance cameras, she confronts her own dark secrets and sadness. The love of a man with an ugly past but a firm belief in redemption is what heals her broken spirit and grants her the courage and confidence to embrace life again. This is a love story extraordinary in its circumstances but universal in its message. With unblinking honesty, asha bandele writes about the tenuous balance of power upon which most relationships rest, the deep needs that bring two people together, the jealousy and insecurity that can drive them apart. But most of all, The Prisoner's Wife reminds us why we love -- what we give up for it and what we receive from it. An immensely gifted poet whom the Bay Guardian has called "an essential new voice in African-American literature," asha bandele has written a remarkably candid book that resonates with poetic language and abundant insight.

About this title

From the Back Cover

As a favor for a friend, a bright and talented young woman volunteered to read her poetry to a group of prisoners during a Black History Month program. It was an encounter that would alter her life forever, because it was there, in the prison, that she would meet Rashid, the man who was to become her friend, her confidant, her husband, her lover, her soul mate. At the time, Rashid was serving a sentence of twenty years to life for his part in a murder. THE PRISONER'S WIFE is a testimony, for wives and mothers, friends and families. It's a tribute to anyone who has ever chosen, against the odds, to love.

About the Author

asha bandele is the author of a book of poetry Absence in the Palms of My Hands and writes for Honey magazine. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0684850737
• ISBN 13: 9780684850733
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224