Originally written and published in October of 2018, this reflects on what it was like trying to re-enter a society that seemed extremely tentative about having any interest in taking me back.
I keep coming back to this piece. It is extremely real, moving, telling. It
deserves a follow up, in my humble opinion. It is the beginning of (all opinion, take or leave it) a hero narrative, i.e. the redemption or human survival story.
It tells the story of how an extremely bright person, falls, is caught in "the system", and then survives that system enough to get out of it, intact and live to tell the story.
This, is, it seems to me, very relevant and interesting because of the intellect of the subject.
You are able to explain in a detailed and nuanced way, things other people from that system might not have the ability to explain, including the experience itself and the analysis of the people and the system. The gift of intelligence combined with the experience, if narrated and published, is then a gift not hoarded but shared with the world.
It would be especially interesting to other convicts and ex cons who don't have that voice, as well as to society, who doesn't pay attention to it enough.
The story also seems to want to continue on, to tell how you used this intellect in pursuit of scientific analysis that also helped discover corruption in another part of "the system." What motivated you to get back into life and work and writing, to continue doing so, despite setbacks or prejudice faced, like a prize fighter, persisting in training despite long shot odds of winning a fight.
All of this seems like an organic whole story that would be very interesting to read. Thank you.
I keep coming back to this piece. It is extremely real, moving, telling. It
deserves a follow up, in my humble opinion. It is the beginning of (all opinion, take or leave it) a hero narrative, i.e. the redemption or human survival story.
It tells the story of how an extremely bright person, falls, is caught in "the system", and then survives that system enough to get out of it, intact and live to tell the story.
This, is, it seems to me, very relevant and interesting because of the intellect of the subject.
You are able to explain in a detailed and nuanced way, things other people from that system might not have the ability to explain, including the experience itself and the analysis of the people and the system. The gift of intelligence combined with the experience, if narrated and published, is then a gift not hoarded but shared with the world.
It would be especially interesting to other convicts and ex cons who don't have that voice, as well as to society, who doesn't pay attention to it enough.
The story also seems to want to continue on, to tell how you used this intellect in pursuit of scientific analysis that also helped discover corruption in another part of "the system." What motivated you to get back into life and work and writing, to continue doing so, despite setbacks or prejudice faced, like a prize fighter, persisting in training despite long shot odds of winning a fight.
All of this seems like an organic whole story that would be very interesting to read. Thank you.