Spring ’24 Schedule for Reading Discussion Group: “Life on the Outside”

Please join Steve Lessner, associate professor of English, in his Spring 2024 reading group to discuss National Book Award finalist Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett by Jennifer Gonnerman. This book addresses social justice issues related to prison reform and anti-racism that are also explored in Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. In her book, Gonnerman focuses on Bartlett, a courageous woman who is released from prison after an excessively long sentence, as she rebuilds her life and advocates for changes in laws that force harshly lengthy prison terms. The discussion group will meet monthly via Zoom four times during the spring semester, on select Fridays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The reading schedule with dates is provided below, with the first Zoom meeting scheduled for Friday, February 23, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Two print copies of the book have been placed on reserve at the Annandale Campus library; the book can also be purchased on Amazon. Please email Steve Lessner at SLessner@nvcc.edu for the February Zoom meeting link.  

• February Meeting: Friday, February 23, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., will focus on Prologue and Chapters 1–11 (pages 1–100)
• March Meeting: Friday, March 22, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., will focus on Chapters 12–22 (pages 101–185)
• April Meeting: Friday, April 26, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., will focus on Chapters 23–33 (pages 186–269)
• May Meeting: Friday, May 10, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., will focus on Chapters 34–Epilogue (pages 273–350)    

Submitted by:
Steven Lessner, AN-English, SLessner@nvcc.edu