Families of Prisoners Support Group

This community is dedicated to families that have been disrupted by prison. Having a loved one incarcerated or having been incarcerated comes with its own unique challenges that require support and understanding. Join the group to find others who know what you're going through, and to seek advice or share your experience.

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cmorton557 09/26/2013

Ok, the people at the facility are kinda annoyed at me. They told me there is a list on amazon or barnes & noble of approved books. Anyone know how I can find this list? I have three books that I need to order but I don't know if they are accepted and I don't know if I can order them used or have to be brand new from amazon? Help!

brandnewangel 09/26/2013

where my guy is he can get books from amazon or bargain books and barnes & noble you can buy books from sellers on amazon but they must be fulfilled by amazon and they might need to be paperback books not hardcover but go to the prison website there should be a list there or if he has a good caseworker who does their job they might give you more information,

vckmag42 09/26/2013

I never heard of an approved list but check your state prison website. Mine does not approve of any sexual content, gang related books, etc. Also you can't send any religious materials which I think is a stupid rule (but I don't rule the world yet). They do have a prison library so if you don't send any he'll be able to pick something out at the jail.

october2014 09/26/2013

Here's another popular bookseller that I've heard about:

Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller Company
P.O. Box 15
Falls Village, CT 06031-0015

hopemagnet 09/26/2013

I have not heard of an approved list either. I ordered him some books from amazon and he got them no problem.. Maybe I got lucky and ordered the right ones? who knows. i have learned pretty much everything by trial and error as I could not find anyone to give me the right info. seems every place has their own rules... oh, and the book i sent was a hardcover so guess that differs by the facility... LOL... Also, what are these caseworkers? i don't think he has one. i have never heard of this except for on this site. hmmm... will have to look into that.

brandnewangel 09/26/2013

http://www.hamiltonbook.com/ they will actually send him a catalog so he could pick books out and he could actually ask them at the prison and he should ask the other inmates what he can have

ihatewisconsin 09/27/2013

Every inmate has a caseworker, that watches over them to see what programs they should be in, see's them if they have any concerns etc. There is usually one for every unit. They have to put in a request to see them. In our state it's called a KITE. ( who knows why)

They weed through problems that the inmate cannot take care of for themselves. They help with getting classes, get them into doctors, programs, etc.

Some are really good, others just get paid to show up and do pretty much nothing. Depends on who he has.

hopemagnet 09/27/2013

LOL, they are called kites here too. They sure do have crazy names for things in there. My hubby told me that they serve green hot dogs and these things they call "cat heads" that apparently look like cat heads but are fried balls of some sort of mystery meat. Maybe cat meat? got to save money by feeding them cheap *ss food i guess, also helps cut down on the feral cat population... LOL. got to laugh, because i don't know how else to process that possibility... they have told my guy that his cholesterol is high and he started getting meds for that. I was like if they are concerned about your cholesterol maybe they shouldnt serve hot dogs 4x a week and cat heads on the other days... guess there are huge chunks of fat/gristle or something in them all the time... gross...

ihatewisconsin 09/27/2013

Oh yuk... now that took my appetite away. Keep it up and I may lose weight yet.

His prison fed them alot of soy meat. I read up on it. It is very bad for their health if consuming too much. Surprise, surprise it's about all they got. He got stomach problems, gallstones, etc. Those are two of the things you can get from consuming too much. A group I believe in FL or TX was suing the prisons for using soy so much.

hopemagnet 09/27/2013

Wow, I had heard of that but didn't even connect the dots until just now. Maybe soy is what the cat heads are made of? Did the soy meat have chunks in it? My guy says that he has been having problems with his stomach lately... Lots of gas and cramping. Sorry if that sounds gross, but I am wondering if your guy had similar symptoms? I am going to have to research this now... hmmm

ihatewisconsin 09/27/2013

Yes he did. Really bad sometimes, other times lots of indigestion, and diarrhea at times too. The soy comes in many forms. They use it to make hamburgers, in breakfast sausage, casseroles and more. It could be in anything. They use it in place of many meats and other ingredients, and as a filler. Read up on it. There is websites about the potential and for sure dangers of high consumption of it, and about lawsuits by inmates from more than one state.

Where he was at, someone was always sick with some sort of stomach problems, sometimes landing them in the hospital or infirmary. It is bad stuff in the quantities that the prisons use.

Suchaslife 09/28/2013

I can't send my man r rated stuff, totto magazine, men's magazines, hard covered books, or law related stuff or the newspapers from the area that his prison is in. As for cards can't send him anything that's got things stuck to it or gultter.
I've also gotta get them myself and send them in to him......every place has different rules.
Green hot dogs???? Eeeww...no wonder his got high cholesterol hopemagnet..

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