Couldn't Keep It to Myself

Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters is a collection of autobiographies by the inmates of the York Correctional Institution.

Summary
For several years, Wally Lamb taught writing skills to inmates at the York Correctional Institution, a women's prison in Niantic, Connecticut. The book contains personal stories written by the inmates dealing with their lives. Most were sexually, physically, or mentally abused, and came from impoverished backgrounds.

Reception

 * Allyssa Lee, of Entertainment Weekly, said that the book has 12 riveting, touching autobiographical accounts that look past the bars to lay bare lives that would normally have gone unheard and that the book deserves an audience.
 * It was reviewed by Women in Action.
 * Pop Matters said that the book's vivid and intimate portrayals remind us that these women are human beings first, inmates second; somewhat disingenuously, the reviewer feigns wonder at Wally Lamb's name being in bold print on the cover since, although he contributed what the reviewer decides is a "rather inane preface", he did not write the book (despite observing him to be "well known" for his novels, which would draw attention from readers, and that it was Lamb who " felt compelled to compile and publish" the inmates' stories on being moved by them, having spent three years teaching the convicted women creative writing). The reviewer goes on to claim the use of his name "seems to detract from his alleged purpose — the women of York" and baselessly speculates whether "this is just another way to channel more money into his own pockets".
 * It was reviewed by Inner Lives: Voices of African-American Women in Prison.
 * An inmate, Barbara Parsons Lane, won a Pen Literary Award for her contribution to the book.