While incarcerated from the end of 2015 to 2017, Ally Colquitt became completely absorbed in the world of reading.
Ms Colquitt was imprisoned for supplying drugs and was dealing with trauma and mental health issues.
She fell into books for their offerings of escapism and self-actualisation.
"[Books] can definitely bring a lot of hope … especially if you resonate with the writer, when the reader can see themselves in their story or connect with somebody".
Certain books were so compelling that Ms Colquitt would stick notes on herself and around her cell with life-changing quotes.
Dante's Inferno was one of countless books Ms Colquitt recalled impacting her.
Finding purpose
She described how each circle of hell resonated with her own experiences in some way and helped her gain some self-awareness, through understanding each circle as a person or mental headspace.
One of her "light bulb moments", however, was reading a line in an Alcoholics Anonymous recovery book.
"I read something that said, no matter how far down the scale we've gone, we'll see how it can benefit others," Ms Colquitt said.
COVID-19 limits library access
During her incarceration, Ms Colquitt worked in the prison library.
It was a job she loved, but one that she also said "made her so mad", observing the limited access women had to the library.
Ms Colquitt said they went from having about five staff in the education department to one, which meant the library was only open for short periods of time.
Lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic restricted library access even further, making access to reading material even more vital.
"[It highlights] the massive lack of engagement and programs in the justice system right now, especially due to COVID," she said.
Unfortunately, reading and self-growth often remain neglected aspects of rehabilitation in the prison systems.
But they are vital to personal growth and avoiding relapse, because they help people address their internal struggles.
"Rehabilitation doesn't really happen in custody," Ms Colquitt said.
Ms Colquitt said the current prison rehabilitation system was too focused on employment.
She said there was a strong focus on training and job-readiness, but a failure to consider how employment can be maintained without focusing on internal problems.
"We see it in the women with lived experience, it's the same story over and over," she said.
Freadom Inside
A new initiative — "Freadom Inside" – is the brainchild of author Bri Lee and the Women's Justice Network, which is run by former female inmates to support other women in their rehabilitation.
The initiative aims to replenish the range and quantity of reading material for women in prison libraries, by encouraging the community to buy a book for an incarcerated woman.
Ms Lee said the Women's Justice Network took the lead in the process of determining which books would be purchased.
"It was really important that we didn't have some rich white woman send out copies of Eat, Pray, Love," Ms Lee said.
There is a strong demand for English literacy books among incarcerated women with low literacy levels who are hoping to learn English to help them when they re-enter society.
"The fact that this is the kind of pulling up [by] the bootstraps story that Australians love … if anyone shows even the slightest interest in doing that, surely we should be doing everything we can," Ms Lee said.
Danielle (not her real name) is a current inmate at Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre and knows how important books are to her wellbeing.
She is particularly invested in self-help books and wants to improve her thinking patterns.
"I'm reading a lot of self-help books because when I get out of here, I obviously want to improve myself, my thinking and my beliefs," Danielle said.
"To understand the reason why I got in here before.
