Marlon Mount

When most people hear that someone has proactively decided to write, befriend, or even date a prison inmate, they think it's weird, bizarre, or unhealthy. So many people, not accustomed to the prison pen pal world, will ask, "Why would you write an inmate? Why not find a friend (or partner) who ISN'T incarcerated?" After a lot of thinking and a little research, we now know the answer: Connection. Or a complete lack of connection, as the case may be. When men and women feel disconnected from one another in the free world (thanks in large part to technology) they turn to someone who may be more inclined to listen, more inclined to pay attention -- a captive audience, so to speak. We discuss some of the research that has helped lead us to this conclusion. We learn about how people are spending much less time out of the house, and how technology is the biggest problem in so many marriages today. People don't feel heard. Many people don't even know how to connect verbally anymore. This epi…