The publication of Can’t Catch a Break is not the end of the stories of the women whose life experiences are described in the book. We continue to spend time with some of the women and as we do we learn more about their lives – both the challenges they face and the strategies they use to address those challenges. It is important for us to convey to readers that these women are not “objects of inquiry” but real human beings who, like all of us, change their attitudes and their circumstances over periods of years, months and even days.

This page is a “Reader’s Guide to Updates” on the women whom you have come to know through the book. In some instances we’ve written full-fledged blog entries about issues that their experiences illuminate. In other cases we’ve simply added a few sentences under their names. All names are pseudonyms.

Please check back – we will continue to post updates!

Andrea: Andrea is settled in a studio apartment, but – much to her annoyance — her boyfriend has moved in with her. According to Andrea he is “too proud” to sign up for housing or food stamps.

Ashley: Ashley has a steady job (though she is underpaid and overworked), a nice apartment, and a lovely boyfriend. Unfortunately she was hit by a car about a year ago and is still struggling with severe back pain, as well as with doctors who too liberally prescribe pain meds for her.

Carly: Carly has lost a great deal of weight, remains involved in her church, and still cannot land a job.

Elizabeth: After ten years, Elizabeth finally has her own apartment. She feels safe for the first time in years and is trying to put her life back together. Sadly, her father passed away this year. Her brother, her closest living relative, seems to have inherited her father’s property and he has taken out a restraining order against Elizabeth. Caste Away: Mass Incarceration and the Hardening of Economic Inequality

November 2014: Elizabeth was beaten to death, on her own living room couch, by a man against whom she had taken out a restraining order. The man who killed her currently is being held on $500,000 bail.

Francesca: Over the past two years Francesca has moved in with and away from Joey several times. She returns because she needs a place to live. She leaves because Joey is verbally abusive. She remains deeply involved with her sons and her granddaughters, and posts frequent pictures of her granddaughters playing with her and their fathers. Yesterday (October 2014) I met Francesca at her new place: a one bedroom apartment she is sharing with her man [not Joey!], a friend’s daughter and the daughter’s girlfriend, and a another young woman. She is thrilled that her name is on the lease so she is not at the whim of the official tenants, but the place is really, really crowded. But the bigger news (for me!) is that I had the honor of sitting with her while she read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Can’t Catch a Break. She is the “star” of both of these sections — and she LOVES the book and told me that “you got it.” She laughed at the changes I made to her name and certain identifying characteristics (for the sake of preserving her anonymity in the book) reminded me that we’re planning to write something together on the absurdity of young women straight out of college who work for Children’s Services being able to tell experienced moms like her what they have to do. For Francesca, reading the book was a bit of a walk down memory lane. For me, seeing and hearing her reactions are the most important validation of my work that I could ever hope to get.  White Women, Opiates and Prison

Ginger: Ginger’s beloved mother passed away several months ago. As soon as her outstanding court case is settled (see The New Price of Freedom: $40 (Bail Blog #2) | The Courtroom was a Circus: Bail Blog #3 – $190 and Counting) she will move out of state to live with her brother, his wife and their toddler.

Gloria: Sex, race and prison’s violent double standard: Incarcerating men hurts women, too
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Isabella: Isabella is happily married to the man with whom she became involved after she left Reese. They are both on methadone maintenance and out of jail. Neither has a job.

Joy: Joy continues to cycle through jail, detox, psychiatric wards and the streets. She recently told me that she doesn’t expect that she’ll survive much longer. Guilty Until Proven Innocent | Suicide is Painful  | Suicide is Painful, Update

Junie: Junie’s health has severely deteriorated. The last time I saw her she was in respite care. I have not been able to contact her for several months.

Kahtia: On the outside, things look great. She and Enrique are still together, they have their own apartment, and the children are holding their own. On the inside, things are not so good. She has been severely depressed and anxious, and feels that “my life is falling apart.” Over the past year she has had half a dozen health emergencies. Today she told me that the doctor is sending her for a CT scan because “I can’t remember anything, where I put things. I can’t find my medicine. I can’t find my daughter’s shoes in the morning and so she’s late for school. She’s in the best school around here and I’m afraid they won’t let her stay in this school.”

Megan: Megan has been in and out of jail and the hospital. She is no longer able to care for her children.

Melanie: Civil Commitment: If You Build It They Will Come

Tonya: Sex, race and prison’s violent double standard: Incarcerating men hurts women, too

Vanessa: I speak to her on the phone but haven’t seen her for a while. She was living in a rooming house but her room was infested with bugs. She had to throw away all of her clothes and furniture when she moved to another rooming house.