First, there's Alma. Her husband, Charlie, is in prison for murder. At first that sounds terrible, but there's a story behind this that makes you see that everything isn't so cut and dried as it may seem at first. Alma has been in love with Charlie since she was 16 and he was 23. But he knew he was too old for her and he went away so he could avoid making a mistake with her. Abandoned by her mother in favor of a boyfriend that didn't want kids around, she was taken in by a neighbor that helped her get through the next couple of years until she graduated from high school. That's when Alma found that she had a talent for exotic dancing. It was at the end of one of her performances in a high end strip club one night that she was reconnected with Charlie, quite by accident. The next thing she knows, Alma's pregnant and Charlie runs again, at least temporarily. They do end up together as a family and all is well until Charlie gets in trouble.

Next is Kitty. She's a woman of wealth and social standing. Her husband, Edward, is imprisoned for a white collar crime and she's simply not equipped to handle it. However, she does take herself to the prison on visiting day to see him. He agrees to see her once and that's only to tell her to get a divorce and make a new life for herself and their children. After that, even though Kitty comes faithfully on every visiting day, he refuses to see her.

Then there's Hattie. She's a proud, African American woman with a talent for cleaning, a head for math and a heart of gold. Her husband, Joe, doesn't belong in prison. He's only there because he's protecting his little brother. But Hattie is counting the days until her Joe gets out and can come home to her and their kids. Joe loves Hattie and they both look forward to that day.

These women all come together in the waiting room and then visitor's room at the prison while waiting to visit their men. They all have one thing in common and that's the fact that they love their men. In the process of this shared experience, they become connected in a way that no one else would ever understand.

Life goes on in this way until the day that a tragic event takes place that will involve them all even more. Things may not end as anyone expects.

Told in both the present and past tenses, WOMEN OUTSIDE THE WALLS offers a bittersweet look into the lives of women that love incarcerated men. There's laughter and tears but, most of all, there's the strong emotional bond these women share.

This is an honest book, which means that it's not always a happy book. It will touch your heart in ways that you wouldn't expect and is a book well worth spending the time to read. You'll come away with a new respect for women in this situation and a bit more understanding of why they continue supporting the men they love, no matter what.

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