By Chasity Webb | Staff Writer
Being a professor is a difficult job. Try being a full time professor and an author. That is exactly what Chinyere Ogbonna-McGruder, associate professor of public management and criminal justice, is accomplishing. Ogbonna-McGruder’s second book, “Voices from the Inside: Case Studies from a Tennessee Women’s Prison,” was released earlier this month.
This is her second book released in two years and the second book she has written since teaching at APSU. Before becoming a non-fiction author, Ogbonna-McGruder wrote many articles pertaining to public health and criminal justice.
Ogbonna-McGruder said she wanted to write a book that pertained to her field, criminal justic, that could help people understand the American legal system and get another perspective of women in jail.
The book takes a look into the history of addiction and then continues to tell dozens of stories of women who have been incarcerated.
Ogbonna-McGruder said she also wanted to show some people get involved in crime and sent to jail simply because they do not really care, while there are others that get pulled into the lifestyle.
When comparing her previous book, “TennCare and Disproportionate Share Hospitals in Tennessee,” she said that, “The TennCare book, the first book I wrote after coming to Austin Peay, is very technical. I mean, you know you look at the data and information. I think it’s a very interesting book.
“It’s very technical and it’s more geared towards university students and policy makers. This book, while it has definitely a lot of academic complement, I still think that any individual that is interested in knowing about incarceration rates can buy the book and read it.
People asked me about buying the book prior to the publication date because they wanted to read the stories of the women. I think if nothing else, [they would] be able to understand the stories of the women.”
When asked about balancing teaching and writing, Ogbonna-McGruder said, “It’s hard because I actually teach nine different preparations every year, so that is pretty tough. But what I do, what I usually do, is I try to get in my research during the summer break. I teach Internet classes in Summer I. Then I dive back into my research. So I get the book done then. Then when the semester starts I usually teach and advise during the day and then try as much as possible to work late at night. Sometimes I usually stay up until 2 or 3 at night working on my research.”
Ogbonna-McGruder relies a lot on her students help with her writing. Whether they help her come up with ideas for the book or help conduct interviews, they are always helping.
Copies of “Voices from the Inside: Case Studies from a Tennessee Women’s Prison,” are available online and in bookstores.
Loading ...