My mom passed away a month ago and my pen-pals have been so supportive and helpful as I try to come out of my funk and get back to things that used to bring me so much joy, things like writing pen-pals and posting podcasts.

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Clare explores the question of why people change and how it can be applied to people being released from prison so they change their ways and never go back to prison.

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Amateur sleuths! Clare's friend Kelly is preparing his appeal and needs help to organize his thoughts and present them to the court.

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Clare reconnects with a pen-pal she thought was lost! She shares a great tip for locating loved ones in the prison system who have moved to a new location. And Clare introduces everyone to RJ, the very first person to write to her first. Strangely enough this is not the last time Clare will receive an unsolicited letter from someone in prison looking for a pen-pal.

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Clare covers a negative reaction to the podcast and asks how to bring up the podcast with brand new penpals.

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Clare shares some example of miscommunications between herself and her pen-pals as well as some quick tips to avoid misunderstandings.

Also there's a quick update on friends Misti and Manda.

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Clare admits to two mistakes, one related to writing to people in prison and one related to last week's podcast. Misti writes 3 letters about her COVID experience in prison.

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Fr. Tobin passed away on New Year's Day. Clare reflects on the times his story interwove with the story of her friends in prison.


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Manda is home from prison!  Amanda is one of the most relatable of my pen-pals. She's open, kind, humble. She likes reading, writing poetry and non-fiction. She likes camping, animals, and silly jokes. She can't be your friend in prison because she is my very first pen-pal released from prison.

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How can you be friends with someone in prison and not be judgmental?

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