Free: two years, six lives, and the long journey home
Description
95 percent of the millions of American men and women who go to prison eventually get out. What happens to them?
There's Arnoldo, who came of age inside a maximum security penitentiary, now free after nineteen years. Trevor and Catherine, who spent half of their young lives behind bars for terrible crimes committed when they were kids. Dave, inside the walls for 34 years, now about to reenter an unrecognizable world. Vicki, a five-time loser who had cycled in and out of prison for more than a third of her life. They are simultaneously joyful and overwhelmed at the prospect of freedom. Anxious, confused, sometimes terrified, and often ill-prepared to face the challenges of the free world, all are intent on reclaiming and remaking their lives.
What is the road they must travel from caged to free? How do they navigate their way home?
A gripping and empathetic work of immersion reportage, FREE reveals what awaits them and the hundreds of thousands of others who are released from prison every year: the first rush of freedom followed quickly by institutionalized obstacles and logistical roadblocks, grinding bureaucracies, lack of resources, societal stigmas and damning self-perceptions, the sometimes overwhelming psychological challenges. Veteran reporter Lauren Kessler, both clear-eyed and compassionate, follows six people whose diverse stories paint an intimate portrait of struggle, persistence, and resilience.
The truth—the many truths—about life after lockup is more interesting, more nuanced, and both more troubling and more deeply triumphant than we know.
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Publisher's Weekly Review
In this empathetic and visceral account, journalist Kessler (A Grip of Time) documents the achievements and setbacks of six formerly incarcerated people as they attempt to reenter society. Vicki, a recovering heroin and methamphetamine addict, hopes rehab will help her turn her life around. Arnoldo, a former gang member, deescalated prison fights and hopes to utilize these skills in the outside world. Catherine was just 13 and a victim of sexual abuse when she and her brother killed their father's girlfriend. Released at age 30, she struggled to start a new life before becoming a sentencing reform advocate. Dave, a gay man who killed his brother and father in 1985 after they mercilessly bullied him about his sexuality, spends his first days of freedom trying to obtain an ID, insurance, and food stamps. Kessler interweaves profiles of these and other ex-inmates with discussions of new models of thinking about crime and punishment, such as restorative justice, and explains the systemic issues that plague reentry and the psychological toll they take. Her immersion into her subjects' lives allows Kessler to convey to readers the immense challenges of life after prison. This powerful argument in favor of a better support system for those who have served their time rings true. Agent: Heather Jackson, Heather Jackson Literary. (Apr.)
Publishers Weekly Reviews
In this empathetic and visceral account, journalist Kessler (A Grip of Time) documents the achievements and setbacks of six formerly incarcerated people as they attempt to reenter society. Vicki, a recovering heroin and methamphetamine addict, hopes rehab will help her turn her life around. Arnoldo, a former gang member, deescalated prison fights and hopes to utilize these skills in the outside world. Catherine was just 13 and a victim of sexual abuse when she and her brother killed their father's girlfriend. Released at age 30, she struggled to start a new life before becoming a sentencing reform advocate. Dave, a gay man who killed his brother and father in 1985 after they mercilessly bullied him about his sexuality, spends his first days of freedom trying to obtain an ID, insurance, and food stamps. Kessler interweaves profiles of these and other ex-inmates with discussions of new models of thinking about crime and punishment, such as restorative justice, and explains the systemic issues that plague reentry and the psychological toll they take. Her immersion into her subjects' lives allows Kessler to convey to readers the immense challenges of life after prison. This powerful argument in favor of a better support system for those who have served their time rings true. Agent: Heather Jackson, Heather Jackson Literary. (Apr.)
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