April 16, 2008

Simpson student Danny Heggen will be reading excerpts from his book “Voices on the Inside: the Women of Boronia” at the Des Moines Central Library, 1000 Grand Ave., April 16 at 7 p.m.

The book is the result of an eight-month project Heggen undertook while studying abroad in Western Australia last year. The project was a collaboration with Professor Ian Fairnie of Curtin University in Australia.

Heggen spent about six months interviewing women at the Boronia Pre-release Centre in Perth, Western Australia, about their lives before, during and after prison. The stories of nine of these women were included in the book. Boronia is a unique minimum-security prison that functions as a community to ease women back into society.

The book was published by Curtain University Press. Books will be available for purchase at the event.