What keeps me going is knowing that I'll be able to talk to my fiancee by phone everyday. Prior to coming to prison, I didn't value the simple pleasure of communicating with someone about daily routine activities, our thoughts, concerns, and everything in...
Letters From Prison: Mercy Precedes Healing
Submission to: The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth Pride precedes destruction, and so every teenager dwells on the doorstep of disaster. I lived it; I was 16, an honor-roll student with loving parents and no criminal record. But I had serious emotional...
Poetry From Prison: Unconditional Love
Taj from Virginia, pictured below, with the inspiration for his beautifully touching ode. Unconditional Love (Godmother) She rises before dawn on Sunday just to catch an early Southbound train. She makes 800-mile round-trip just a single day for a mere three hours...
Review of The Other Wes Moore
This book was enjoyable from multiple standpoints. It was engaging and personable. It was compelling and sad. In short, it evoked a range of emotions that made it a memorable read. The author, Wes Moore, keeps his readers engrossed by juxtaposing his story--beginning...
Review of Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Perhaps the number one goal humans pursue is love, but coming in at a very close second has to be the pursuit to find meaning; to devote oneself to a purpose that validates their existence in some way. This 150-page book depicts in great detail, page after page, how...
Letters From Prison: Prison & Kids by Tod Bailey
Ainsworth, Michael. Retrieved February 27, 2016 from The Steep Cost of Keeping Juveniles in Adult Prisons [Online image]. No mother or father would ever expect their child to go to prison. Mine didn't. First off, people need to know exactly how easy it is...
Review of Marlon James’s A Brief History of Seven Killings
Empires leave indelible marks on their conquests. Decades after they leave, voluntarily or not, their influence is still felt. Take Jamaica, for instance.Its natural resources and people had been plundered by the British for centuries. Even after slavery was finally...
The Power of A Letter
Adjusting to prison is no easy feat. I liken it to being put on an airplane, blindfolded, taken to a remote location somewhere on this vast earth, and dropped off in a foreign land with no resources. You are left with nothing but your own wits and inherent ability to...
The Agony of a Visit
No doubt, perhaps the highlight of any inmate's day, week, or month is when his/her name is called for a visit. This is the time (in most prisons, I believe) when inmates are able to finally have the much needed physical contact with the people who mean the most to...
Rick’s Review of Martin Lockett’s Palpable Irony
We introduced you to our friend Martin Lockett in a previous blog post. We are thrilled to say that Martin will be a regular contributor both here and in our quarterly newsletter. Do yourself a favor and get this book! —♦— Good people make mistakes. Martin Lockett is...