Fancy Meeting You Here
In the last couple of chapters, Piper gets transferred to Chicago to testify against Jonathan Bibby, Nora's drug-dealing rival. Coincidentally, Nora is there, too. (To read more about their semi-reconciliation, check out Nora's analysis in the "Characters" section.) Piper testifies and ends up getting released from Chicago, which, according to Mapquest, is only about 836 miles from Danbury.
Because Piper's boyfriend, Larry, is the most amazing boyfriend ever, he drives to pick her up. Piper is released with a "young Spanish guy" (18.113) whom she called Homie (18.117) who thankfully has a ride, too. But what if Piper had been one of the other women from Danbury? How would any of them have gotten home? This scene is one of many that illustrate the prison system in America and its structural disinterest in rehabilitating prisoners at all.
The paperback copy of the book has an afterword in which Piper says she got pizza after being released. More interesting than this, though, is how she gives information on how she serves on the board of the Women's Prison Association and includes a list of resources on how you can help, which is also available here.