Building Bridges

Building Bridges is a collection of poetry, personal essays and stories written by students at East River Academy, an alternative school on Rikers Island, that serves incarcerated individuals as they await trail, sentencing or release from jail. Their writing was inspired by the theme of survival--a topic they explored in their English classes and which resonates with each of them personally.

These pieces are a testament to the authors' remarkable resilience in the face of struggle and their efforts to survive, succeed and forge new beginnings.

We hope this book offers a window into the hearts and minds of young adults incarcerated in our country today. Their voices of regret, hope and desire for a better future need to be heard; their struggles need to be understood and acknowledged.

We invite you to read the words of the students at East River Academy.