Thanks, Tonya. I hadn't seen this piece!

“I have a 2-year-old. I record audiobooks and send them home so she can hear my voice. When she visits and hears my voice, I want her to know who I am. I found out there is no right answer and every attempt is worth trying.”

"Together, they helped turn raw experience into meaningful, responsible and ethical journalism," says Tariq.

Prison Journalism Project relies on donations from readers like you to make sure writers like Tariq can continue to be heard. Can you support our work?

"For example, my friend Shaheen helped me focus on the heart of my stories and to find the issues that mattered most. Yukari showed me how to layer and structure an essay, continuing through every edit after that (and there were many, I can assure you)," writes Tariq.

"I had a voice, but no microphone, no platform and certainly no professional training. PJP changed that. They didn’t just publish my words, they taught me how to craft them."

"Back then, I was simply a man trying to give shape to thoughts and experiences that the outside world rarely sees and often refuses to acknowledge," he continues.

You can sign up for the newsletter here: prisonjournalismproject.org/newsletter/?...

At some point, would love to reach out to you to see if you would be interested in participating in a listening session.

Thank you for reading, Amy. Do you receive our weekly newsletter?

"We are mandated to work six to eight hours per day, Monday through Friday. The hourly pay ranges from $0.06 to $0.24. ... after working 60 to 80 hours over two weeks, many accumulate around a mere six dollars to spend."