PHOTO SOURCE:
TYPORAMA
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SOUNDS LIKE TROUBLE TO ME
Inspired by the true story of the women in Dublin Correctional Facility in California fighting back against rampant sexual abuse by officers, leading to criminal convictions for staff, this remarkable debut novel sheds light on what happens when corrections officer Antoinette “Nettie” Murphy kills her abusive husband and suddenly finds herself on the other side of the law.
Not only is she shocked with the systemic abuse against fellow female prisoners but confronted with the complicated history of her own abuse, she must struggle with her fragile memory to uncover what actually happened before she goes to trial.
It is the women she meets who transform her—and ultimately compel her to challenge the very system she once served.
PRAISE FOR SOUNDS LIKE TROUBLE TO ME:
“Trounstine’s stunner isn’t just about the toll prison life takes on women, it’s about the breaking points in all of our lives, from domestic abuse to an attorney’s rage at injustice to the way memory haunts, fools, and eventually frees us. Rich with love for her indelible characters, Trounstine’s novel is a blindingly original MeToo, showing how even in the darkest environment, female friendship not only nurtures, but builds extraordinary power and light. A truly remarkable read.”–Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and Days of Wonder
“Caroline Leavitt is so right, the book is a truly remarkable read. It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a first sentence that well-written.”–Cosimo Giovine, publisher of Zio Apollo Press
“In her remarkable debut novel, Sounds Like Trouble to Me, Jean Trounstine takes readers on a perilous journey through the U.S. legal system, behind bars, and beyond. This affecting tale of one woman’s violent struggle–and redemption–is soaked with empathy and understanding from a big-hearted, deeply engaged writer.”–Stona Fitch, author of Death Watch
“Jean Trounstine’s Sounds Like Trouble to Me is a valuable and important book for many obvious reasons… not least the window it opens into the seldom-seen-by-civilians world of corrections officers.”–Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising, National Book Award finalist, and author of more than twenty other books
“Sounds Like Trouble to Me took me through so many different emotions. The details in the story were mind blowing. I can’t believe how detailed and on point everything is. I thank Jean for writing this book because it gives readers insights on how you can be living your life one minute and at the snap of a finger or the wrong word… your whole life can change.”–Angelia Jefferson, mother, daughter, formerly incarcerated freedom fighter, now participatory-defense transform-harm coordinator at Families for Justice as Healing
“Sounds Like Trouble to Me is not only a scrutiny of how structural abuse pervades the U.S. prison system, but a narrative about memory, strength in family, and standing up to exploitation. An absorbing page-turner, with complicated lives worthy of a close inspection, this novel succeeds on so many levels and demands our attention.”–David Moloney, author of Barker House
“This powerful read by Jean Trounstine transported me back to the many housing units in women’s prisons all over the country where I have visited. In these spaces courageous women form loving and nurturing villages, despite the trauma and abuse that they have experienced and often continue to endure. Nettie represents many of the criminalized survivors who find themselves in such dark places. Praise to Trounstine for taking us on this sheroic journey.”–Olinda Moyd, movement lawyer, decarceration advocate, social justice activist, and law clinic professor
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ABOUT SOUNDS LIKE TROUBLE TO ME:
SOUNDS LIKE TROUBLE TO ME sheds light on what happens when a corrections officer kills her abusive husband and suddenly finds herself on the other side of the law.
Not only is she shocked with the systematic abuse against fellow female prisoners but confronted with the complicated history of her own abuse, she must struggle with her fragile memory to uncover what actually happened before she goes to trial.
It is the women she meets that change her, and in the end, she spurs on a MeToo movement behind bars.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jean Trounstine is the author of eight books, an activist and educator, who has written extensively about the criminal legal system in America.
She worked at Framingham Women’s Prison for a decade, where she directed eight plays for prisoners–resulting in her highly praised book, Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Power of Drama in a Women’s Prison.
Her groundbreaking work is considered the first prison Shakespeare program launched in the United States.
Trounstine has spoken throughout the world about women in prison, and co-founded the women’s branch of Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL), an innovative alternative sentencing program.
As a journalist, she writes on prison and parole for Boston Institute of Nonprofit Journalism, Truthout, Boston Magazine, and others.
In 2018, she was invited to Italy and awarded the Gramsci International Award for Theatre in Prison for her 3o years of work in literature and theatre.
Her nonfiction book Boy With a Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner’s Fight for Justice (IG, 2016) examines the moral and legal failures of sentencing juveniles to adult prisons.
Following the successful release of Motherlove, her book of short stories in 2024 from Concord Free Press, Sounds Like Trouble to Me is her debut novel.
