Doing time together : love and family in the shadow of the prison /

When Comfort (medicine, Ctr. for AIDS Prevention Studies, Univ. of California, San Francisco) was working at San Quentin State Prison in connection with her academic work, she became intrigued by the number of women who made regular prison visits. Why did they want to maintain a connection with these marginalized men? This work is Comfort's interviews with 50 women whom she calls "quasi-inmates." Her findings should astound readers who might tend to look at these women as lacking in good judgment. Comfort found that once the incarcerated men are getting the health and welfare provisions that prisons provide, the couples actually have more romantic and satisfying relationships than they had in the "free" world. So who cares? Not everyone, but people concerned with prisoners' rights and women's struggles will find much food for thought here. Others should try the chapter called "The Tube," about the part of San Quentin's structure through which visitors pass before getting to the main visiting area. Comfort's description of the transition between the free world and the prison world is a little gem. Recommended for academic and public libraries.-Frances Sandiford, formerly with Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.