The invisible labor of women who love incarcerated people

Cassandra Butler, 43, starts her day at 5 in the morning, the only time when it’s quiet at her house in Puyallup, Washington. As she sips her first cup of coffee, she prepares for a long day ahead. She meditates, then reads over the schedule she wrote in her planner the night before.

By 10 AM, she has already logged a few hours at one of her two mostly remote full-time jobs. She’ll spend the day going back and forth between this job, a government role, and her other job at a restorative justice organization.

Her whiteboarded schedule includes everything from meetings at work and cases that have to be cleared at one job to grocery shopping and a vet appointment for her dog. This part of her schedule usually lasts until 9 or 10 PM.

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