“I’m just a random white gal raised upper-middle class. But to think that I am disconnected only allows for the continuation of a system that benefits from my ignorance.”

Everybody gets old, Grandma always says. Everybody withers.

there is nothing separating us but a few inches of cold metal, through which his questions stream like water through a sieve.

“That’s how I lived through--no--I survived that harsh winter in solitary confinement. It gave me the mental strength to push forward through any situation I faced in the future.”

“She made me sit next to her, arms shaved thoroughly, her skin covered in razor burns. ‘We’ll get another one.’”

You don’t know what else to say, so you ask about simple things, like what her favorite commissary snacks are, and if you can send coloring books through the corrections postal service.