An unavoidably difficult, frustrating book, given the subject matter. I appreciated Imarisha's honesty, including about the number of the things she doesn't have satisfying answers to because no-one does. ( )

An unavoidably difficult, frustrating book, given the subject matter. I appreciated Imarisha's honesty, including about the number of the things she doesn't have satisfying answers to because no-one does. ( )

Walidah Imarisha is remarkable. This book, which began as her MFA thesis, has been described as "creative nonfiction", and Imarisha herself says, "Any nonfiction book must be read partially as fiction, for we all tell ourselves stories to make sense of our lives." "Angels With Dirty Faces" tells three stories, two of them focusing on men who served or are serving prison sentences, the other the story of the person who is bringing their stories out from behind the prison bars (Imarisha). If you are concerned about prison and criminal justice reform, if you are concerned about sexual assault, if you are interested in the potential for transformative justice, or are ready to expand your sense of compassion, this book will provide you with joy, pain, enlightenment, anger, and poetry (Imarisha: "Facts are not poetic enough to reveal the rhythm of a human heart. We thank poetry for its inaccuracies—imperfect cracks on the face of beauty through which the light is able to shine through—word to poet Leonard Cohen."). Word to poet, activist, teacher, visionary fiction writer, and inspirational human being Walidah Imarisha.