I am 36 years old, incarcerated at the South Dakota Women's Prison. I am serving a 10 year sentence at 40%. I have two years left before I am released on parole.

I have lived a life of self-destruction, sin and chaos; however my life has not always been so corrupt. I was raised by my grandmother in a God-loving home, attending church at the Lakota Wesleyan chapel on the reservation. I had a good upbringing.

In my teens, I rebelled against my family and society falling into a life of drugs and alcohol. I was considered a runaway, a flight risk to any institution.

Running from my problems an...