Unwritten is an extremely valuable tool for people, both incarcerated and impacted by incarceration, to know they are not alone in their experiences. Reading the pages I couldn't help but thing about my own experience while incarcerated and both positive and negative effects it had on me. I believe Unwritten gives a voices to those who are often forgotten and left out. Our feelings and experiences matter. Not only is this book a tool for those impacted, it can also allow others to understand our experiences and the need to fight against mass incarceration. I highly recommend this read, as I believe its a great contribution to the work of prision reform. Dr. Jamila T. Davis, Author, Activist, Professor

This book combines heartache and triumph, and gives us glimpses of the human spirit transcending even from the inside. A must read for any social justice advocate or activist. - Sammie Werkheiser, founder of Mothers on the Inside 

We often think change only occurs when policy happens or when elected officials prioritize an issue. The truth is change often occurs because those directly impacted use their story to raise awareness about a real challenge they are experiencing that is effecting not just them but many more people. Our experiences, shared through our stories have the ability to create impact. The impact can save lives and inspire those facing hardships to find purpose in their pain; and transform a setback into a come back. Angelo Pinto Esq.            Co-Founder Until Freedom

Unwritten, a collection of writing by incarcerated persons ("behind the bars") and their loved ones and communities ("beyond the bars") describes powerfully, this bridge to hell. . . story after story, traces in emotional detail the movement into incarceration, the terror, horror and damage done, and the pain-staking movement back across that bridge to the experience of living one's own life. The powerful writing traces their experiences of "riding into the abyss, never to return" and their struggle to survive and to change their circumstances. Repeatedly the writers point to the crushing weight of systemic racism and ineqality. Intergenerational tramua, poverty and the terrible strains these put on their mental and physical health. - Deborah Sherman, Licensed Mental Health Counselor BC-DMT, LMHC

Unwritten is a trip! Both poetic and literal. Literal in the sense, the reader is able to sit in the passenger seat and gain insight into just some of the minds, souls and hearts that are on the opposite side of those prison walls. Poetic in the sense that if this system continues to sweep indivuduals under a rug, it is inevitable that eventually we as a society will trip over that rug. Unwritten is a trip. It is that reminder that there is work still needed to be done, things that needed looking at yesterday, and it echoes  the question, "have we forgotten about rehabalitation?" This isn't a book that you read in a day, rather absorb daily and reflect on, because it's a shame on them  that their stories are unwritten, it's shame on us if their stories go unchanged. Javon Lomax, Restorative Justice Facilitator, Center for Court Innovations/Project Reset, Bronx

Authentic storytelling of pain, redemption and vulnerablity from those forgotten and their loved ones. - CANY, Correctional Association of NY 

Mass Incarceration can make one forget that there's human being behind every prison sentence given. A human being with people they love and who love them. Someone with a story to offer the world. In Unwritten you are invited to get to know the human beings behind the sentence, their families, communities and how excessive punishment in the end hurts all of us. When given the proper tools for rehabilitation, men and women are able to return to their communities and in turn help prevent future generations from repeating their mistakes by sharing their stories. Eli Almonte, LES, Community member