“How could I admit that the All-American Girl's force field of stoicism and self-reliance and do-unto-others-and-keep-smiling wasn't working, wasn't keeping pain and shame and powerlessness away? From a young age I had learned to get over - to cover my tracks emotionally, to hide or ignore my problems in the belief that they were mine alone to solve. So when exhilarating transgressions required getting over on authority figures, I knew how to do it. I was a great bluffer. And when common, everyday survival in prison required getting over, I could do that too. This is what was approvingly described by my fellow prisoners as 'street-smarts,' as in 'You wouldn't think it to look at her, but Piper's got street-smarts.”
Quote by Piper Kerman
Work
Orange Is the New Black
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Author
Piper Kerman
Piper Kerman (born September 28, 1969) is an American memoirist and writer best known for her bestselling memoir "Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison" (2010). The book chronicles her 13-month experience in federal prison for drug trafficking. Her memoir was adapted into a critically acclaimed Netflix television series (2013-2019). Kerman works as a writer, speaker, and advocate for prison reform. more
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