Book excerpt: During my years of incarceration, I have given a lot of thought to many things I should have in my youth. Upon my release, I was greeted with a reality that is both harsh and unfair to those in my position. It is those harsh realities that forced me to look at things from a different perspective and try another way of life. The experiences Ive had and the lessons Ive learned throughout my life have inspired me to share my unique perspective with the world. This book, I feel, is the beginning of a new way of having a conversation about a particular topic that most ordinary Americans do not want to talk about or even acknowledge. Yet for many in this country and around the world, incarceration, and often recidivism, is an all-too-unfortunate reality. Whats worse is the aspersion cast on those who have fallen into that vicious cycle of crime and incarceration by society.