By Bridget Kinsella
This is the true story of the author’s relationship with a prisoner at the Pelican Bay Correctional Facility in California. As a writer for Publisher’s Weekly magazine, Bridget Kinsella has an exciting, satisfying career working with other writers in the fast paced world of publishing. Unfortunately, Bridget’s personal life is not as rewarding at the moment. Recently recovering from an extremely painful divorce and a move from NYC to the West Coast, Bridget is trying to accept the idea that as a single woman in her mid thirties, she may never have children of her own, which she desperately wants. When a teacher friend mentions an amazing writer in his class at the prison and asks Bridget if she would be interested in looking at his work, she agrees, completely unaware of the profound effect this new writer will have on her life.
This is the true story of the author’s relationship with a prisoner at the Pelican Bay Correctional Facility in California. As a writer for Publisher’s Weekly magazine, Bridget Kinsella has an exciting, satisfying career working with other writers in the fast paced world of publishing. Unfortunately, Bridget’s personal life is not as rewarding at the moment. Recently recovering from an extremely painful divorce and a move from NYC to the West Coast, Bridget is trying to accept the idea that as a single woman in her mid thirties, she may never have children of her own, which she desperately wants. When a teacher friend mentions an amazing writer in his class at the prison and asks Bridget if she would be interested in looking at his work, she agrees, completely unaware of the profound effect this new writer will have on her life.
No one is more surprised than Bridget when she reluctantly begins to develop romantic feelings for Rory, a thirty year old man with a troubled past serving a life sentence for murder. Rory is sweet and attentive to Bridget, and quickly falls in love with her. It’s sometimes hard to believe that the man that Bridget describes in their visits, letters, and phone calls is a convicted murderer. Due to their unique bond, Bridget develops friendships with many of the prisoners’ wives and girlfriends, and she knows that she doesn’t want that lonely life for herself, a choice that Rory completely supports. He appears content just to have her in his life in any form, wanting only to support her and help her heal from her bad previous relationships, so she can be happy again.
If I didn’t know this book was non-fiction, Rory might seem too good to be true. Unlike the author, I found some of his letters a bit on the creepy side. (Maybe I'm just a skeptic when it comes to love?) Still, this book was hard to put down, I couldn’t wait to see how their relationship would end, and it turned out to be a pretty surprising conclusion. An interesting look at what it’s really like to be in love with someone in prison.
If I didn’t know this book was non-fiction, Rory might seem too good to be true. Unlike the author, I found some of his letters a bit on the creepy side. (Maybe I'm just a skeptic when it comes to love?) Still, this book was hard to put down, I couldn’t wait to see how their relationship would end, and it turned out to be a pretty surprising conclusion. An interesting look at what it’s really like to be in love with someone in prison.
Other recommended books on this topic include: The Prisoner's Wife: A Memoir by Asha Bandele, Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon and The Good Wife by Stuart O'Nan.
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