I surprisingly enjoyed the first half of Writing Our Way Out. To be honest, I definitely am not the biggest fan of reading but I felt like I flew through the pages. At first, I thought the title Writing Our Way Out would entail something along the lines of the inmates retelling the story of their crimes and accepting the reality of their actions and the consequences. I did not expect to go so in-depth into the trauma of each of their childhoods. What struck me was that although the inmates all had some sort of childhood trauma, each one of their traumas differed slightly. Some were about getting hooked on drugs at a young age, some were about parental figures and even one about his journey with homosexuality. Each inmate had a story and it was apparent to see how they were led down the wrong path by their unfortunate home environment. I think the story that stuck with me the most was Naji’s story of how he and his brother were brutally abused by their grandmother. It was sad to see the abuse get increasingly worse and more extreme. Now, both of them are in jail with his brother being convicted of murder. Across all of the stories, it was apparent how much of a factor parental figures played and how not having a loving and supportive family can cause so much pain. After finishing the reading, I really thought about how amazing my parents and family are and how appreciative I am to have grown up in such a supportive and loving environment.