{"product_id":"this-wasnt-supposed-to-be-my-story-defying-expectations-living-my-truth-9781964365749","title":"This Wasn't Supposed To Be My Story: Defying Expectations, Living My Truth","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis Wasn't Supposed to Be My Story is a powerful memoir of resilience, reinvention, and truth-telling by Dr. Vanda Seward. Becoming a mother at sixteen, dropping out of high school, and growing up in public housing were supposed to define-and limit-her future. Instead, they became the foundation of a life lived on her own terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith raw honesty, Seward traces her journey from the Bronx to a groundbreaking career inside New York State's criminal justice system, offering a rare insider perspective shaped by lived experience. She writes candidly about teen motherhood, street life, love and loss, working behind prison walls, and marrying a man who was incarcerated-while ultimately earning a GED, multiple degrees, and a PhD.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThreaded throughout is her mantra, \"I don't give a damn,\" not as defiance, but as clarity and self-preservation. This memoir challenges stereotypes, exposes the human cost of mass incarceration, and affirms that destiny is not dictated by circumstance-but reclaimed through courage, education, and truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e NY Publishers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/13\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781964365749\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 268\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.56d","brand":"Vanda Seward","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52403619135669,"sku":"9781964365749","price":15.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_f45ffa99-f2c2-43bf-8235-c4be68d9f734.jpg?v=1774969980","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/this-wasnt-supposed-to-be-my-story-defying-expectations-living-my-truth-9781964365749","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}