Piper Kerman is an American author born in Boston in 1969. In 1998, she was indicted on charges related to money-laundering and drug-trafficking activities. She was sentenced to 15 months in federal detention and served 13 months of that sentence in a women's correctional facility. Kerman's experience in prison became the basis for her memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, published in 2010. The book provided an intimate account of her time incarcerated and offered insights into the lives of women in the federal prison system. The memoir gained significant attention and was adapted into a Netflix comedy-drama series of the same name, which premiered in 2013 and became critically acclaimed. Since her release from prison, Kerman has become an advocate for prison reform and has spoken publicly about issues facing incarcerated women and problems within the federal prison system. She currently works as a communication strategist for non-profit organizations, applying her experience and platform to support causes related to criminal justice reform.