This past year, I’ve had the pleasure of being a guest speaker at three local-to-me book clubs that assigned Chained Birds: A Crimemoir to their members. I can’t adequately convey what it meant to me, as a debut author, to be welcomed by these groups and treated as a guest of honor.
I have finally compiled a list of book discussion topics that grew out of these events, and I’ll give it a special place on my blog for others to use. For any non-local (Philadelphia area) book clubs that would like to feature Chained Birds, please note I would happily pop in by Zoom or video chat to say hi or answer questions 😊
📚Book Club Discussion Questions for Chained Birds … Warning: Spoilers Ahead👇
📍About the Book
Chained Birds is a gripping true crime memoir by investigative journalist Carla Conti. It follows her journey into the dark world of prison gangs, corruption, and the pursuit of justice as she becomes entangled in the legal defense of a man accused of a brutal prison stabbing. The book blends memoir and reportage, offering a raw look at systemic abuse and personal transformation.
‼️Content Advisory (for facilitators)
This book includes adult language, violence (stabbings, restraints), suicide, addiction, systemic and sexual abuse. Please approach with care and consider a brief check‑in and the option to pass during harder topics.
Discussion Questions
🧊 Ice Breakers
- What drew you to this true‑crime memoir: the prison‑reform angle, the legal drama, the ethical questions, the author’s voice, or something else?
- The title Chained Birds invites interpretation. Before reading, what did you think it meant?
📖 Inciting Moments and First Impressions
- The Prologue recounts the murder of Officer Jose Rivera. How did starting there shape your expectations for the story?
- How does the “snowball” incident function as the book’s fuse? What did that scene signal to you about cause, effect, and accountability?
🧍♀️🧍♂️Characters, Relationships, and Trust
- Consider the triangle of Carla (journalist), Scott (defense attorney), and Kevin (incarcerated client/artist). Where did you most feel trust—and where did your trust waiver?
- What did you think of Carla’s decision to join the legal team? Was it brave, reckless, or something else?
- Carla becomes a character with skin in the game (safety, friendships, grief, and anger). How did that affect your empathy and your skepticism?
- Were there moments when you questioned the motives of any of the main characters?
- How did your perception of Kevin Sanders evolve throughout the book? What stayed constant? What did you learn from his letters and art, to his courtroom presence, to his post‑release?
- Where did you feel the book’s risks most acutely—for Kevin, for sources, for the author?
🏛️ Law, Evidence, and the Courtroom
- If you were on the jury, how would you have weighed the missing opening to the rec‑cage video? What is the proper remedy when potentially exculpatory footage is not preserved?
- Should “justification” (duress/necessity) have been available to Kevin at trial? Why or why not?
- The defense’s expert witness on prison gangs was denied. What’s the line between explaining context and inviting prejudice?
- Which witness shaped your view most: Kevin, Little Eagle, Lt. Lippit, or the FBI agents? Why?
- Which correctional staffers (e.g., Shemp, Lippit, MacDonald) felt credible to you—and why?
- How did your feelings toward the prosecutor and the judge change over the hearings and trial?
⛓️ Inside the SMU: Power, Violence, and Prison Policy
- What did you learn about the Special Management Unit (SMU) at Lewisburg—and later at Florence? Which practices felt indefensible to you, and which felt like the system trying (and failing) to manage risk?
- How did double‑celling, cuff‑through‑the‑slot policy, and rec‑cage pairings alter your view of “choice” and culpability behind bars?
- After reading about four‑pointing, ambulatory restraints, and retaliation, where do you draw the line between order and abuse?
- How does the book challenge readers to think about rehabilitation versus punishment?
- Where do you think the system (courts, BOP, parole) most clearly failed—and where did it work as designed?
📝 Ethics of Reporting and Advocacy
- Carla joins the defense team (editing statements, troubleshooting tech, even role‑reading testimony). What benefits and conflicts did you see?
- Where should journalists draw boundaries when sources face real danger? Did Carla cross or respect those lines?
- True crime often walks a tightrope between exposure and exploitation. Did this book “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” as quoted in the Epilogue? In what way?
✍️ Structure and Style
- The book is part legal thriller, part memoir, part investigative journalism/exposé. How effective was this hybrid approach?
- Did the pacing and structure enhance or hinder your engagement with the story?
- Did the inclusion of transcripts, letters, and procedural detail enhance your understanding—or slow you down?
- Which scene pacing (hearings, trial days, phone calls, late‑night crisis) felt most cinematic or immersive?
🕊️ Art, Metaphor, and the Title Chained Birds
- How did Kevin’s artwork, including his sketch “Chained Bird,” change how you saw him? Which of his drawings stayed with you?
- The book title ultimately became plural—Chained Birds. Who are the “birds,” and what are the chains?
- Birds can symbolize freedom and fragility. Where did you see both in this story?
🆘 Trauma, Addiction, and Reentry
- Where did trauma show up most clearly—for Kevin, for staff, for Carla and Scott?
- How did you respond to the reentry chapters—Crossroads Academy, the tug‑of‑war with freedom and relapse, and the dangers of old networks?
- What kinds of support actually change reentry outcomes? Where did you see promising paths—and preventable pitfalls?
🔎 Memory, Truth, and Uncertainty
- Late‑book events (e.g., the motel episode) come with ambiguity. How did uncertainty affect your reading? Does ambiguity diminish or deepen truth?
- How should we handle “unknowns” in nonfiction when the stakes—guilt, safety, policy—are so high?
💫 Themes and Messages
- What role does fear play in the story — both inside and outside the prison walls?
- What does Chained Birds reveal about the U.S. prison system? Did anything surprise or disturb you?
- How does the book explore the concept of justice? Do you think justice was ultimately served?
💭 Final Thoughts
If you could ask the author one question at your book club, what would it be?
Carla Conti is a former journalist and the award-winning author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir. Her true crime debut won multiple 2025 national book awards, including 1st Place in True Crime from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Winner in True Crime from the Indie Reader Discovery Awards, Silver in True Crime from the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), and a 1st Place Nellie Bly Journalism award from the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Carla is at work on her next true crime book, The Jacklighter, scheduled for release in 2026. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who supports her true crime habit.