Who Is Heather?

Heather C. Jarvis is an expert on the gender-specific issues women face while incarcerated.

A survivor of addiction and the criminal legal system, Heather now dedicates her life to helping others pursue true courageous self-change through her writing, speaking, social work, and empowered storytelling. Heather is an advocate for authenticity. She strongly believes if the truth hurts others, yourself, or the world – change it.

In 2019 Heather won the Fielding A. Dawson Prize in nonfiction in PEN America’s Prison Writing Contest. While behind bars, her work appeared on The Crime Report, The Iowa Review Prison Writing Project, The Journal of Women and Criminal Justice, Scalawag Magazine, Spectre, Prism, Slate and she secured a second award in PEN America's contest in the memoir category. She is also a regular contributor for the Prison Journalism Project and was a Semifinalist in TullipTree Publishing Stories That Need To Be Told Contest.

She holds an A.A.S. in Correctional Rehabilitation from Sinclair College. Heather has experienced the cycle of incarceration and generational crime first-hand, from all angles. First as the child left behind, then as the mother stuck in the masses, and finally as the parent watching her child get swallowed by the penal system.

Heather has been to a lot of places you would never want to go, and did a lot of things you would never want to do, but she has one hell of a story because of it.