Barbara Stuber
“Just beyond yourself is where you need to be.”
— David Whyte -Poet and Philosopher
Three years ago, I stepped across the threshold from novel writing into the world of non-fiction. I embarked on the challenge and privilege of interviewing women who have just been released from incarceration, and now live at Journey House, a homestay residence in Kansas City, Missouri. It has been a profound experience. In the beginning, what I didn’t know about this complex and often controversial topic was pretty much everything. But these women do know something… and now, I know something too… we must relate to people, not statistics. I have reexamined my own ill-informed, recycled assumptions and snap judgments. Listening deeply and learning someone’s life story, especially if it is someone you might never otherwise meet, is a rare gift, a mirror and an invitation….
The courage and generosity of the women who have volunteered to reveal their life stories, many for the first time, is remarkable. As one woman puts it, “This is my way to reach out and help another vulnerable young girl out there who is on the brink like I was.”
Meet them on my website “We Want You Here” at: www.journey.house
IF YOU SEEK A LARGER, MORE EXPANSIVE AND ACCURATE WAY TO THINK ABOUT THESE WOMEN PLEASE WATCH US ON YOUTUBE AT “POETRY, STORIES, GIVING VOICE TO INCARCERATED PEOPLE” PRODUCED BY THE KANSAS CITY MISSOURI PUBLIC LIBRARY IN MARCH 2023
Connections
Groups: Heartland Writers for Kids and Teens | The 10’ers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Work: Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
We Want You Here
Journey to New life
Agent
Ginger Knowlton
Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Ten Astor Place
New York, NY 10003
Press Pack
Photo: Barbara Stuber
High res cover: Girl in Reverse
High res cover: Crossing the Tracks
