Telling Their Stories

Palisadian Jorja Leap’s Latest Book Covers Daily Struggles of Formerly Incarcerated Women in Los Angeles

By SOFI FISCHER | Intern

Palisadian author Jorja Leap released her latest book in April, titled “Entry Lessons: The Stories of Women Fighting for Their Place, Their Children, and Their Futures After Incarceration.”

The book shares the stories of six women who were incarcerated, detailing the struggles they faced post-incarceration—including reuniting with their children, making a steady income and finding housing.

“The fastest growing population in U.S. jails is women,” Leap said to the Palisadian-Post. “Of these women, 80% of them have children. While they are locked up, no one is taking care of their children so they go into foster care.

“Their biggest problem when they get out of prison is not committing another crime, it’s reuniting with their children and finding a place to live.”

Leap has been a part of the Palisades community for 33 years, during which she raised her daughter, all while pursuing her passions of writing and gang intervention.

“When I moved here, I knew it was home,” she explained. “I worked with gangs and people who are incarcerated, so it was really important for me to come home to a place that is peaceful and nurturing.”

The foundation of her work is fueled by Homeboy Industries—the largest gang rehabilitation program in the world.

Homeboy Industries consists of different 18-month programs that offer employment for gang members and the formerly incarcerated. Services at Homeboy range from baking to solar panel training, which have employed hundreds of men and women, providing opportunities for community involvement, a new start and financial support.

Formerly incarcerated men and male gang members at the rehabilitation program were the center of Leap’s first two books, “Jumped In” and “Project Fatherhood.” It wasn’t until she visited the women in Homegirl Cafe—a service at Homeboy—that she was exposed to the hardships endured by formerly incarcerated women.

“Homegirl Cafe is for women who have been in prison,” she said. “They become waitresses and learn the food service business. I started hanging out with the women in the cafe and hearing their stories. I just knew it was a book, and I knew they were stories I had to tell.”

Leap said that out of the 80 women that she spoke with, she narrowed it down to six women due to the unique diversity of their experiences.

“Some of them had been in the child welfare system, one woman was a big time drug dealer and went to federal prison, and another was undocumented,” Leap explained to the Post. “They all have different stories, but these were women who survived, who were raising their own children and they were not victims … They were strong and went through hell. But I could have written about all 80. It’s like asking which of your children you love the most.”

During the lengthy process of speaking with the women and writing her book at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Leap noted that two central women in her book—Ivy and Janet—were in prison at the time, but were released a week prior to her book launch.

“All of the women I wrote about were at my book release party,” she shared. “It’s been a very intense process and they’re a part of my life now. They will always be a part of my life.”

In addition to life as a writer, Leap spends her time teaching at UCLA in the social welfare department and is currently working on a study of a gang intervention program at the White House. Working in 16 cities, she also does expert testimony in courts for the death penalty and gang violence cases.

Leap acknowledged that while her passions and occupations intertwine to “feed the writing,” these passions are driven by her personal experiences growing up.

“If I had been born in poorer circumstances, or more significantly, if my skin was black, I could be one of these women,” she shared. “I was a very wild child and I was in an abusive relationship. Luckily, I had help. But these stories could be my story, and it could be anybody’s story.”

Leap mentioned the goal of her book, in addition to exposing the hidden suffering of formerly incarcerated women, is to humanize these women by debunking the myth that “they are evil just because they have done bad things.”

“If we know their stories, and we know their lives, I’m not saying that we excuse their behavior, but we begin to understand it and craft solutions that address the problem,” she said. “The research I do, the work I do, is only as good as the change it can bring about in the world and the people it will help.”

“Entry Lessons: The Stories of Women Fighting for Their Place, Their Children, and Their Futures After Incarceration” is currently available in local bookstores and online.