My good friend Larry Smith wrote a touching piece for the Styles section of today’s Times, called “A Life to Live, this Side of Bars.”

It’s a brief taste of Larry’s experience visiting his then-girlfriend, now-wife Piper Kerman in a federal women’s prison. In 2004, Piper served 13 months for a non-violent crime committed in her reckless youth. Her book, “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison,” will hit bookshelves on April 6. It’s an extraordinary read; go pre-order it now.

Larry’s piece tells the other side of the story — what it was like for him to visit Piper every week, to keep his life going while his lady love was behind bars. Not easy. As the prisoners say of their loved ones, “They do the time with you.” Read Larry’s piece to find out how.