Even if the stories by female inmates in I’ll Fly Away weren’t searing, powerful and revealing, this would still be a book worth reading as a show of support for those who went through so much to produce it. Edited by novelist and accidental activist Wally Lamb, who teaches a writing workshop at the York Correctional Institution in Connecticut, this new collection came after state officials challenged a prior book, Couldn’t Keep It to Myself, in a protracted legal battle. Only Lamb’s persistence and a public outcry enabled the prisoners to prevail and begin telling their stories once again. As the title suggests, Lamb hopes that writing gives the women wings to hover about the confounding maze of their lives and find a way past the dead ends.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
