On January 23rd I took a Covid PCR test and, because of the absolute mismanagement of the Covid response in our prison, I tested "Covid Punitive." I had been going to work, taking rapid tests to get in, for almost 2 weeks without incident (including the time of the...
In a state like Washington that has no functional rehabilitative motivators, House Bill 1344, Emerging Adult Parole, may be a step in a positive direction. Washington's parole is limited in scope to juvenile offenders and sex offenses, with very few parole cases tied...
In her remarkable book, My Stroke Of Insight by neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, I was taken on her profoundly objective tour of her own life trauma. As a neuroanatomist who taught and performed research at Harvard Medical School, when Taylor had an abrupt...
In her follow up volume to "84, Charing Cross Road", Hanff takes you on a ride through her adventures in London in "The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street." After 20 years of corresponding with the Doel family and a burning desire to visit London, Hanff finally cashes in on...
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash He knew it was deep. He felt the blade push against his body and knock him off center. And another one. And another. Fifteen times as he tried to get out of the grasp of the two guys holding him. He felt no pain though. All he could...
After finishing "84, Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the power of correspondence. Hanff, through her own personal accounts, shares the ability to know the people you've never met. As an incarcerated person myself, most new...
I recently read a book by Ryan Holiday titled The Obstacle is the Way, where he really digs into stoicism and how to bravely face adversity, a struggle, and use it to create something more. One chapter that struck me talked about "love everything." I really had to sit...
Everyone knows of him. He's the guy with the white beard. He's in his late 50's and still manages a pony tail that he can braid. Some guys are envious of his hair. He carries a comb in his back pocket like a kid from last century. He talks about his mom like she's his...