cover image Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison

Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison

Piper Kerman, read by Cassandra Campbell. Tantor Media, unabridged, 10 CDs, 11.25 hrs., $39.99 ISBN 978-1-4526-0766-5

Kerman is now a successful and respected vice president of a communications firm based in Washington, D.C.%E2%80%94but she took a long and turbulent road to get there. In 1998, Kerman was indicted on drug trafficking and money laundering charges, and later served 15 months in a women's prison. In this audio edition of Kerman's memoir about her experiences in prison, Cassandra Campbell provides skillful narration, capturing the essence of the story and its protagonist. The narrator's subtle portrayal of Kerman is subtle, yet ripe with tension and raw emotion. Despite a somewhat lackluster, overly reserved performance in the audiobook's early chapters, Campbell soon turns up the heat, ultimately delivering a compulsive listening experience and a memorable turn as Kerman. A Random/Spiegel & Grau paperback. (June)