Corrections in Ink: A Memoir

by Keri Blakinger

Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning. —“NOT WAVING BUT DROWNING” BY STEVIE SMITH

I wish she could see who she will become, and the parts of herself she will leave behind. The darkness that she will learn to live with, and the light she will learn to let in.

They say that eating disorders are about control, but it is not

that straightforward. They are also about self-destruction that feels just like success.

sharp corners of my grief—

Locking hundreds of traumatized and damaged women in together and threatening them constantly with additional punishments is not rehabilitation. It is not corrections. It is not public safety. It is systemic failure.