Light From the Cage : 25 Years in a Prison Classroom
by Judy Patterson Wenzel
| Memoir
| Published 11-01-2017
For 25 years, Judy Patterson Wenzel taught high school completion classes in prison in the only program beyond GED in the federal system. In Light from the Cage, she spins out stories of and by her students about their journeys toward the treasured accomplishment of earning a high school diploma. Weaving in her own unexpected journey, she learns as much as she teaches, changing the perception of the men she taught and the country we live in. Arranged by themes of place, identity, community and the spiritual gifts of inclusion, gratitude and caring, these moving and funny stories illuminate age-old truths: Lines and fences cannot be placed between good people on one side and bad people on the other. And often, the people we cast out and lock away become sources of great wisdom and uncommon grace of light and love in a dark world.
Born and raised in Northern Michigan, Judy Patterson Wenzel raised four children and then moved to Ann Arbor where she taught high school classes in a federal prison. When she retired, she wrote Light from the Cage: 25 Years in a Prison Classroom, also published by Fifth Avenue Press. Her students helped her to love poetry as they loved to hear it, read it, and write it.