'Behind Bars: Women Inside' Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4 highlight Cash's story: Will she get the 'normal life' she desires?
Prison life can be explosive and tormenting, not only physically but emotionally and psychologically as well. This tends to be truer for women inmates than men.
Research says that more than two-thirds of female prisoners in America succumb to mental health issues than their male counterparts. And A&E's reality series duly portrayed that by citing real-life instances of a few inmates.
When we say "mental health", it doesn't necessarily mean serious medical conditions but the constant stress and trauma that can result in erratic behavior, highly negative thoughts, and a self-destructive attitude.
However, then there are instances of women like Cash. Cash has been a heroin addict. She has lost her family and had multiple relapses, pulling her into offenses she could have avoided, had she not been an addict.
Her abuse has caused her not only physical pain but an immense emotional setback. And as she continues to serve her term, we see that she has started to realize how much she has missed out on life and its gifts.
Since she has to complete her prison tenure, she is trying to be her best self. Most of her fellow inmates would get involved in internal rivalry, brawls, and fights. But Cash has a good heart and keeps herself at bay from prison politics.
She is concerned about people who have been diligently serving terms without any complications. Cash is particularly all heart about old Geraldine. From a few clips, it is clear that Cash is a "caring" woman.
She even tells us in her interview that all she desires is a good job, a family to take care of, marriage, and live a "normal life" — a life she could never have because of the mistakes she made and the damages that ensued.
But now, as she serves her term she has had the realization and wants to fix it once she is out. Although, it is proven that prison changes a person and makes it difficult to go back to the normal society, it is also not impossible if they start preparing themselves even before they get out.
And with the right admin assistance in prison and social support later, women like Cash can turn their lives around, despite having a criminal history. In other words, Cash still has hope to build and live the normal life that she always wanted.