Life after prisonWritten from inside the process

Real life,rewrittenin real time.

This isn’t a comeback story. It’s real life after prison, written in real time.

No polish. No pretending.

Read the Story

Just figuring it out as I go.

Amy Parks, writer of Cell to Self

Amy, according to Amy.

What they printed was part of the story.

What they missed is everything that came next.

Read what’s happeningRIGHT NOW

Freedom doesn’t arrive in order. Neither do these stories.

Dear Prison Pals · 9 months out

Hey!
That’s
mine.

A bedroom. A kitchen. A shower. Even the Wi-Fi. Ordinary freedom, finally spectacular.

After the HeadlineSearch result

Me, according to Google me.

The article arrived. It just wasn’t the loudest voice in the room anymore.

Healing in Real Time

I’m not ready
to write this.

But I’m writing it anyway.

Free-world artifact No. 01

The prize
for the prep.

Freedom looked sudden. The work started years before the gate opened.

Letters to the women still inside

Dear
Prison
Pals,

Actual letters about debit cards, probation, men, meetings, peanut butter Snickers, work, God, and everything freedom forgot to explain.

2 weeks outTap to Pay, Probation, & Peanut Butter SnickersRead Story 2 months outSomehow, This Is My Life NowRead Story 4 months outBut Wait. There’s More.Read Story

Amy Parks, founder and writer of Cell to Self

The woman behind the headline

I Am Amy.
This time, I tell the story.

I write about life after prison while I'm still figuring it out. Recovery. Reentry. Family. Faith. Grief. Work. Men I probably shouldn't date. And all the weird little things nobody tells you about freedom.

“Never underestimate the beauty of an ordinary day.”