Based on the true story of an educated woman who falls in love with a man who is incarcerated and forms an unlikely bond with three women she meets in the prison waiting room. Amid pain and disappointments, the women support each other during the most difficult experience of their lives.

Synopsis

In the fall of 2008, Valencia Andersen saunters into her favorite restaurant to decompress after working a long day at the Pentagon.  She grabs one of the free magazines on display and plunges into an inspiring article by Edward “Eddie” Marshall. What intrigues her the most is not the story but, rather, the writer. Eddie has been incarcerated for two decades. She dashes off a letter of praise, sparking a back-and-forth correspondence that quickly turns personal. After two months of overheated letters and phone calls-like two starved teenagers-Valencia takes a step, she never imagined in a million years. She visits Jessup Correctional Institution to meet Eddie.

The waiting room at the prison introduces Valencia to the real version of a world she knows from movies and television. Nervous, doubting, unsure, she joins three other women who are waiting to see the incarcerated men in their lives. As the women share the stories of what brought them to prison, they reveal the unsettling landscape that flourishes behind the lofty walls and imposing barb-wire fences of a maximum-security prison.  Through tears, anguish and hilarity, they discuss everything from relationships, and children, to sexuality and the prison industrial complex.

When Valencia finally meets Eddie, they struggle to utter a single word, until they both mischievously acknowledge that the photos they had been fantasizing over are seriously outdated. The laugh they share breaks the ice and opens a conversation about the life they will live once Eddie is released.

But Valencia’s euphoria is interrupted by visceral criticism from her son and her sister who cannot fathom how a woman with a master’s degree could be interested in a convict and not just any convict, but one with a life sentence. The son assumes Eddie is simply exploiting his mother and the sister thinks this is another example of impulsive thinking. Only Rhonda, her closest friend and ally cheers Valencia and defends her against the callous attacks from her family.

Defiant, Valencia sets her sights on getting her man out of prison, even if it means exhausting her life savings. She retains a high-priced attorney, ceases to pay her student loan and seeks to modify her mortgage payments. Valencia and Eddie, both deeply religious, hope that a miracle from the throne of God will inevitably shine favor on them.

Valencia’s son and sister step up their attacks by assailing Valencia and Eddie even to the point of outright nastiness. The student loan interest spins out of control, the mortgage adjustment is rejected, bills mount up and savings are depleted. Then the court petition is summarily denied. What follows is Valencia’s slide into a breakdown. She accuses God of abandonment; she blames herself for believing in a fool-hearted dream and she is offended by Eddie’s inability to amend the situation. After investing years in this romance, she decides to end the relationship with Eddie. Although her sister celebrates the news, Valencia’s son notices that her joy had been replaced by melancholy.

The women in the waiting room encourage Valencia not to give up on what has sustained her and Eddie through the many years. Then in a stunning revelation, her son admits that she is better with Eddie than without. Valencia recalls how their love blossomed through letters and phone calls, and she is encouraged to continue the fight. The Senate passes a bill that rescinds the governor’s power in parole cases, and the parole board unanimously votes to recommend Eddie for parole. In the waiting room, Valencia shares the joyful news and the women who have supported her all along dance. After decades of incarceration, Eddie strolls out of prison and into the arms of Valencia his future wife.

I am thankful to my “The Other Side - Voices of the Incarcerated” readers:  Sterling Johnson Jr, Darrin Davis, Anonymous, Brodrick Berry, Melissa Warren, Anonymous, Janis Hagey, Genell Anderson, Anonymous, Anonymous, Anonymous, Philip Pannell, Anonymous, Anonymous, Ivan Brown, Bernadette Champion, and Anonymous for donating $535 to allow POH to pay me for this and several upcoming articles. It was inspiring and humbling to know that my voice is that inspiring to others.

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See CBN interview Colbert about his work with other returning citizens. His part is at about 12:14 on the timeline.

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Note: Send a review to T. Colbert.