1987年,我第一次被关进监狱,服刑期间最难熬的要数骨肉分离之苦。狱中大多数女人都有同感,所以,我们常常相互分享自己孩子的故事。蕾妮是我在狱中认识的一个朋友。她因涉毒被判入狱七年,正在服刑。她有一个五岁大的儿子,由她父母抚养着。为了避免儿子因为母亲被监禁而感到恐惧和耻辱,蕾妮和她父母都告诉这个五岁大的孩子,说蕾妮到外地读书去了。蕾妮常常给她儿子打电话,还向他保证不久就会和他重聚。 In 1987, for the first time, I was put in jail and the hardest part of my sentence was the separation of flesh and blood. Most women in prison feel the same, so we often share stories about our children. Renee is a friend I know in prison. She was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug-related crimes. She has a five-year-old son, raised by her parents. To prevent her son from feeling horrified and disgraced because her mother was imprisoned, Renee and her parents told the 5-year-old that Renee had gone to school elsewhere. Renee often called her son and assured him that she would be reunited with him soon.