From the Publisher
A powerful, surprising memoir about crime and punishment, friendship and marriage, and a life caught in the ruinous drug trade and beyond.” — Publishers Weekly
“It’s a riveting tale, told well and full of lessons for those willing to listen. ... detailed here in a voice that is heartfelt and honest, toughening when it needs to but remaining steadfast.” — Eloise Kinney, Booklist
“Don’t mistake Wolters’s sticking to the facts for lack of engrossing intrigue. Anecdotes about her globetrotting and law-breaking—not to mention her affair with Kerman—make for can’t-put-it-down entertainment.” — Next Magazine
“Wolters’s accessible and honest memoir opens the door and invites readers in. Patrons won’t meet Alex Vause, the sultry drug-trafficking queen of OITNB. Instead, they’ll meet Wolters—a woman with aspirations, whose missteps take her on unexpected journeys. — Library Journal
“Where Piper’s account has given us a voyeuristic look at prison life that allows us as a nation to congratulate ourselves on being so well adjusted and normal compared to the people whose lives we can’t stop watching, Wolters’ book sounds much more authentic, insightful, and heartbreaking.” — Tattle
“In [Wolter’s] book, she tells an honest and emotional tale of the decisions and the mistakes she made, as well as the struggle to keep them from defining the rest of her life. — Amos Lassen, Reviews by Amos Lassen
In prose that is brilliant (at times breathtaking), Cleary also offers us a story of regret and redemption…She writes unflinchingly about her ordeals in the violent and overcrowded prison system.” — Janet Mason, Huff Post Books
Next Magazine
Don’t mistake Wolters’s sticking to the facts for lack of engrossing intrigue. Anecdotes about her globetrotting and law-breaking—not to mention her affair with Kerman—make for can’t-put-it-down entertainment.
Janet Mason
In prose that is brilliant (at times breathtaking), Cleary also offers us a story of regret and redemption…She writes unflinchingly about her ordeals in the violent and overcrowded prison system.
Eloise Kinney
It’s a riveting tale, told well and full of lessons for those willing to listen. ... detailed here in a voice that is heartfelt and honest, toughening when it needs to but remaining steadfast.
Amos Lassen
In [Wolter’s] book, she tells an honest and emotional tale of the decisions and the mistakes she made, as well as the struggle to keep them from defining the rest of her life.
Tattle
Where Piper’s account has given us a voyeuristic look at prison life that allows us as a nation to congratulate ourselves on being so well adjusted and normal compared to the people whose lives we can’t stop watching, Wolters’ book sounds much more authentic, insightful, and heartbreaking.
Library Journal
05/15/2015
Fans of Orange Is the New Black (OITNB) are unlikely to recognize the name Cleary Wolters, but they're certain to know Alex Vause. Their fascination with the fictional Alex will lead them to this memoir by Alex's real-life counterpart, although the book is less about the "real Alex" and more about Wolters—her quest toward a brief and unglamorous drug-trafficking career; an otherwise anticlimactic relationship with Piper Kerman, who wrote the account upon which the show was based; and ultimately, her incarceration and beyond. VERDICT Wolters's accessible and honest memoir opens the door and invites readers in. Patrons won't meet Alex Vause, the sultry drug-trafficking queen of OITNB. Instead, they'll meet Wolters—a woman with aspirations, whose missteps take her on unexpected journeys. Readers soon learn that those adventures differ greatly from those experienced by the show's oft-entitled protagonist, Piper.—Erin Entrada Kelly, Philadelphia
