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Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison, by Shaka Senghor
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New York Times Bestseller
In 1991, Shaka Senghor was sent to prison for second-degree murder. Today, he is a lecturer at universities, a leading voice on criminal justice reform, and an inspiration to thousands.
In life, it's not how you start that matters. It's how you finish.
Shaka Senghor was raised in a middle class neighborhood on Detroit’s east side during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic. An honor roll student and a natural leader, he dreamed of becoming a doctor—but at age 11, his parents' marriage began to unravel, and the beatings from his mother worsened, sending him on a downward spiral that saw him run away from home, turn to drug dealing to survive, and end up in prison for murder at the age of 19, fuming with anger and despair.
Writing My Wrongs is the story of what came next. During his nineteen-year incarceration, seven of which were spent in solitary confinement, Senghor discovered literature, meditation, self-examination, and the kindness of others—tools he used to confront the demons of his past, forgive the people who hurt him, and begin atoning for the wrongs he had committed. Upon his release at age thirty-eight, Senghor became an activist and mentor to young men and women facing circumstances like his. His work in the community and the courage to share his story led him to fellowships at the MIT Media Lab and the Kellogg Foundation and invitations to speak at events like TED and the Aspen Ideas Festival.
In equal turns, Writing My Wrongs is a page-turning portrait of life in the shadow of poverty, violence, and fear; an unforgettable story of redemption, reminding us that our worst deeds don’t define us; and a compelling witness to our country’s need for rethinking its approach to crime, prison, and the men and women sent there.
- Sales Rank: #13897 in Books
- Published on: 2016-03-08
- Released on: 2016-03-08
- Format: Deckle Edge
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.60" h x .80" w x 6.60" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 288 pages
Review
"[A] harrowing [portrait] of life behind bars . . . Gritty, visceral . . . Senghor writes about the process of atonement and the possibility of redemption, and talks of his efforts to work for prison reforms that might turn a system designed to warehouse into one aimed at rehabilitation."
–Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
“My first glance at the person on the book's cover—a dreadlocked, tattooed, heavyset black male—left me skeptical. Full of judgment. Why should I be interested in the story of a murderer? But as [Senghor's] words unfolded, so did my understanding—of what it means to fall short, to go astray, to lose your way . . . His story touched my soul.”
–O: The Oprah Magazine
"[A] powerful memoir."
–The Washingtonian
“No one has forced us to look at the core questions about humanity and our broken criminal justice system with more authenticity and clarity than Senghor . . . If Senghor’s tale is any indication, redemption, mercy and grace aren’t just emotional ideals or spiritual buzzwords. They are the sharp, effective tools that can be used to rebuild lives and communities, one person at a time.”
–Erica Williams Simon, TIME.com
“Probably the most important book I've read in the past few years . . . Few people, sadly, come out on the end of two decades of hard time and find their way back to the life Shaka is now leading. Here, he tells us why that is, and why it doesn't have to stay that way.”
–Shaun King, New York Daily News
“Senghor’s story, laid bare, forces us to ask: is this not our fellow human being? Does he not deserve a second chance? If he failed himself in the most profound way, how did the rest of us fail him too?”
–The Guardian
“Extraordinary . . . You will reconsider everything you’ve ever thought about poverty, the prison industrial complex and the connection between the two.”
–Essence
“[An] inspiring book that gives hope for those who believe in the redemption of the incarcerated . . . Not the usual ghetto tale.”
–Publishers Weekly
"An extraordinary, unforgettable book. Writing My Wrongs is a necessary reminder of the deep humanity, vulnerability and potential that lies within each one of us, including those we view as 'thugs' or 'criminals'. Shaka's story illustrates that if we muster the courage to love those who do not yet love themselves, a new world is possible."
–Michelle Alexander, professor of law, Ohio State University, bestselling author of The New Jim Crow
“Shaka Senghor's terrific and inspiring book affirms that we are all more than the worst thing we've ever done. This beautiful and compelling story of recovery and redemption offers all of us powerful truths and precious insights as we seek recovery from decades of over-incarceration and excessive punishment.”
–Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, bestselling author of Just Mercy
“A profound story of neglect, violence, discovery, redemption and inspiration. Consistently touching and surprising, Writing My Wrongs is, ultimately, deeply hopeful. Prepare to have your preconceptions shattered.”
–J.J. Abrams, director, writer, producer
"Shaka Senghor is a once-in-a-generation leader, championing a cause that will define a generation: mass incarceration. Behind prison walls, Writing My Wrongs is already taking its place alongside the memoirs of Malcolm X and George Jackson as must-read literature. In the broader society, its publication will propel him into the ranks of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michelle Alexander—powerful visionaries whose words are shaking the foundations of our nation's understanding of itself."
–Van Jones, CNN contributor, bestselling author of Rebuild the Dream and The Green Collar Economy
“I basically read this book in one sitting and wouldn’t shut up about it for months. People would say to me, ‘Good morning. How are you today?’ And I’d just start talking about atonement and solitary confinement and recidivism. Shaka’s book reminds us of the great imperfections that remain in our nation, but his determination to move from community liability to asset reminds us that no life should be written off. We need this story. It isn’t pretty, but it is beautiful.”
–Baratunde Thurston, supervising producer, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, bestselling author of How To Be Black
"Essential reading for anyone who believes in the deeply spiritual and transformational power of redemption. Our nation must confront this concept to reach our own promise as a country. No matter who you are or where you've come from, this book holds strong, inspiring lessons and shows that the difficult pathway to redemption can bear abundant fruit for many. In the end we are all, no matter our path, more powerful agents of service than we realize."
–U.S. Senator Cory Booker
“If you’ve wondered what makes it possible for good people to do terrible things, and what a man can endure to reach redemption, then you must read this book. Senghor’s story is told with brutal self-assessment and tender attention to what makes profound change – in a person and also in our communities – not only possible but imperative. In this unforgettable memoir, Shaka takes us from the streets of Detroit into solitary confinement in prison, and against all odds, home safely and successfully to a family and community that needs him.”
–Piper Kerman, bestselling author of Orange is the New Black
"More than the proverbial 'We Fall Down/We Get Up' story. It’s a testament to the power of the mind, and the fact that none of us should ever be defined by our lowest point."
–Detroit Metro Times
“Delivered with a stark realism that is only occasionally relieved by humor and the bizarre characters [Senghor] encounters.”
-Herb Boyd, Amsterdam News
“Senghor's fearless self-reflection serves as a cautionary tale for the young and a guidebook for anyone seeking atonement. His lessons about owning your failures and taking accountability resonate in every walk of life, from the streets to the boardroom.”
–Mellody Hobson, president, Ariel Investments
“Writing My Wrongs is a gritty, no-holds-barred look inside the degrading world of American’s prisons and the inspiring story of how one man overcame the biggest obstacle—himself—to reclaim his life. Shaka’s painful journey from callous street thug to compassionate community activist is a roadmap for those who believe in the power of redemption.”
–Maurice Ashley, American chess grandmaster, author of Chess for Success
About the Author
Shaka Senghor, a member of Oprah's SuperSoul 100, is a writer, mentor, and motivational speaker whose story of redemption has inspired thousands. While serving 19 years in prison, Senghor discovered redemption and responsibility through literature, his own writing, and the kindness of others. He is the author of six books, a former Director’s Fellow at the MIT Media Lab, a Community Leadership Fellow with the Kellogg Foundation, and the founder of The Atonement Project, which helps victims and violent offenders heal through the power of the arts. He currently serves as the Director of Strategy and Innovation with #cut50, a bipartisan initiative to safely and smartly reduce the U.S. prison population in half by 2025, and speaks regularly at high schools, prisons, churches, and universities around the country.
Most helpful customer reviews
61 of 64 people found the following review helpful.
Promise of Hope
By Ashleigh Carey
I had never imagined living life any other way than my own. Living in white, suburban America, never in real danger or fearing for my life. I had always heard stories of rough neighborhoods where drugs and street crimes were problems but never sat down to think about it. When I found out I had to read Writing My Wrongs by Shaka Senghor, I thought, “Great, another book I have to read for class.” I never thought that it could change my whole perspective of those who are incarcerated, cities with an abundance of drug and street crimes and the entire prison system in America.
The biggest disappointment that came to me was the fact that America will spend more money on prisons than on schools. Senghor wrote, “One of the things I noticed when we pulled up was how neatly manicured the lawns were and how new the buildings looked. The prison stood in stark contrast to the dilapidated schools that sat like scabs across Detroit’s dying landscape… The state was more willing to invest money in the upkeep of prisons than they were in schools” (87). How could America be more willing to maintain the pristine look of prisons rather than invest towards a brighter future for the children of our country? This was a huge wake up call to me that I’m glad Senghor gave me. I have such a hard time dealing with the fact that instead of trying to keep youth off the streets and out of prison by putting more money into schools the state is trying to keep prisons in tip top shape because chances are always leaning towards arrested once, arrested again. How could keeping the places where people go to serve their time be more important than the place youth goes to learn the difference between right and wrong? The place they go to learn how to build their futures and to all that life has to offer. For some school is the only place they have to get away, and in places like Detroit when schools lack the funds they need to provide that positive atmosphere, youth turns to the streets, where most end up getting arrested and back into the prison game.
Shaka Senghor’s personal reflection through his time as a youth before he went to prison was a startling reality check to me. Every time he had the chance to leave his life on the streets he always ended up going back until finally it was too late. I always had hope for him when he said that he would be moving away and living with someone else away from the ‘hood. It made me so upset to read of the way he was living his life. Running away from home at the age of thirteen and living on your own? The first and only job he got was selling drugs to his friends? I work at a golf course selling food to people and get stressed out when people give me a hard time about their order. I cannot possibly imagine the stress and hurt that a thirteen-year-old boy felt selling crack on the streets of Detroit. Detroit is a harsh city to live in, and I never truly understood that until I read Shaka’s first hand experience. Along with pain and hurt from being away from and being forced to find acceptance in the streets was the desensitized sense of violence. Senghor wrote, “We were all desensitized to violence and accepted it as the way of the world we came up in. In fact, I don’t recall a time when my life wasn’t marred by violence” (97). To be so unaware of the effects of violence is not that far beyond me. With so much violence depicted in the media everyday, it is not that much of a surprise to me that more and more violence is happening. What is surprising however, are the effects it has on the people. Shaka and his friends had become so desensitized to violence that they would get drunk and high and continue to carry a gun when they were definitely not capable of making responsible decisions with them. If I had not read Shaka Senghor’s Writing My Wrongs, I never would have gotten this incredible first hand look into life on the streets, and how harsh and intense it was to live in a city like Detroit.
Throughout my experience reading Writing My Wrongs, I learned so much more about the experience a prisoner has during their sentence. At the beginning of his journey through prison, Shaka was full of hate and anger and didn’t know how to handle himself in stressful situations. He lashed out and got himself sent to the whole several times where he learned after awhile that the only person he can truly really on was himself. He read often to increase his intelligence and to simply pass the time, he also spent so much time writing down his emotions, coping through the hurt and anger. It was through these writings that he was able to reflect in upon himself and make the transformation into the person he wanted to be rather than the person he was when he entered prison. Senghor wrote, “So with pen and pad, I clung with my sanity; between that, writing letters to my family and reading their letters to me, I redeemed my soul” (249).
Reading Shaka Senghor’s Writing My Wrongs changed the way I perceive prisoners. I always forget that they are still people who made mistakes. They can learn from their mistakes if they truly put the effort into trying. A saying that rang true for me as I read this book was you get out of life, what you put into it. Not only for a person going through a huge transformation like Shaka, anyone who wants to see a change in their life has to put in the effort. This was a wake up call for me because I had been going through the motions for so long and now I have a feeling of hope that there are better things out there for everyone.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
An Underdog Story of Salvaging Life
By Mary E. MacDonald
Writing my Wrongs by Shaka Senghor is a powerful and honest autobiography about a man who faced endless amounts of adversity, but through his journey realizes more and more that there is plenty of life to salvage. On the front of the paperback cover that I own in small print under his name, a simple line is written that sums up exactly his adversity. “The story of a teenage drug dealer and convicted murderer who used writing to heal wounds from his childhood and reclaim his humanity.” Shaka proved to me that the adversity I have faced in my life so far and the things that I complain about on a daily basis are nothing in regards to everything that he went through.
I recently did a proposal for my Sociology class based on our prison system and the flaws I believe it has and how we can fix them. I was able to discuss it with my friends brother Traves who was in jail for six years. In Writing my Wrongs, Shaka said something that was almost exactly the same as what my friend’s brother said during the interview. “The state was more willing to invest money in the upkeep of prisons than they were in schools. They had it all backwards. Instead of treating the disease, they spent millions of dollars treating the symptoms.”(Senghor 87) I did more research on my own and agree with both of them. It hits home more for Shaka then for me because he talks about how bad the schools are in Detroit and claims that clearly these politicians think that black communities are “being set up to fail”.(Senghor 87)
It’s really funny because before I read Shaka’s book and talked to Traves, I really had no idea what it was actually like to be in jail. You see movies and instantly think that’s what it’s like. Not the case at all. When a guard tells you to never engage in homosexual activity, gamble, borrow money, or even play basketball on one of the first days you arrive, you are going to question yourself as a human being and your worth, as Shaka did. “ I started feeling sorry for myself and started getting angry with God, my parents, my teachers, and everyone else I felt had let me down.… Not once did I think about how I let myself down.” It amazes me how Shaka went from being in an absolute terrible place both mentally and physically, and turned it into a positive. I have always believed things happen for a reason in our lives. This situation is a prime example. The amount of times people have read his book and are able to apply what happened to him in their own lives is an astonishing number I am sure. I am a white male from a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts attending an expensive Liberal Arts college. You would never guess that I would be able to take anything away from a book like this, well you are wrong. If none of these unfortunate doings had ever happened to Shaka Senghor, there would be no book, and many lives that were saved from “Writing my Wrongs” simply wouldn’t have been.
Running away at the age of thirteen and selling drugs on the streets of Detroit being the first and only job you have had in your lifetime is adversity right off the bat. In this book, Shaka progresses into never making excuses for himself when in reality he easily could have. At age 13, I was in a sheltered middle school where I pretty much had everything handed to me. The only job I held at age 13 was a lemonade stand when I was seven. On weekends, I played sport with friends and really had no responsibilities besides twenty to thirty minutes of homework I had a night that I would do as quickly as I could just to get it done. I barely knew what drugs were let alone the fact that people my age could ever be selling them. Shaka and I lived two very different lives, how does one overcome so much at such a young and age? The answer is written all over the pages, confidence and perseverance.
“When I inhaled my first free breath, it was like a baby taking in air for the first time. The free air tickled my lungs and caused me to smile from deep within. I was officially a free man, and this time, I planned to do it the right way.”(Senghor 297) At the end of the book Shaka finally had a chance to start over everything, including his relationship with his soul mate Ebony. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to leave those prison doors. Even when he received parole and got transferred to a prison in Detroit must have been an amazing feeling. Many people say that prison is the worst thing that can happen to you. But after reading Writing my Wrongs, it is clear to me now that there can be many positives that can come out of it. All you have is time with yourself where you can read and write, but more importantly think. You can think about who you were and what you want to become. Shaka realized that he had another chance at life and this time he was not going to let it slip by. He made a vow to do his life the right way, and while he made this promise to himself, he helped others along the way. You don’t need go further then who wrote this review to find someone that his story had an impact on. Never again will I take my life for granted, take shortcuts, or do things that stray away from who I am as a person. There are going to be times where I slip up and make mistakes. But never will I let those mistakes define who I am for the rest of my life.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Writing My Wrongs, A book worth reading
By E Girard
“…I am looking forward to the next phase of my journey challenging others to right the wrongs that exist in our world.” Shaka Senghor ended his story, Writing my Wrongs, with a quote that tied his whole journey into one sentence. This quote ties together both the main purpose of Shaka Senghor writing his story and his reasoning behind showing it to the world. The book itself is interesting in that it puts its readers into a whole new world and a whole different realm of thinking for most audience members. In this world of adversity and prison that Shaka experienced, readers are able to relate to him and also get a glimpse into a different type of living. For example, within the epistemic community of prison, there are similarities in how typical society functions. Before reading this book, I believed that those who were incarcerated often did not have inner feelings of guilt, regret or remorse for being in prison. The text communicated to me in a way that put me in the shoes of Shaka Senghor and gave me a whole new insight into the eyes of someone who is in prison. When Shaka spoke about the confusion he felt when his parents were constantly separating then getting back together, it really helped me to get a better understanding of who he is as a person. “As her words barreled into my ears, my heart began crumbling into pieces like saltine crackers.” (24) His words reminded me of the many people I know who have come from broken homes. His thought process at that young of an age going through divorce was heart wrenching. Shaka writes in a way that appeals much to pathos. He grabs his reader’s hearts, and holds the hearts in his hand. Through his diction and presentation of ideas, he is able to manipulate the audience’s emotions. With this skill he’s developed in his writing, he uses sentences like, “The tenseness of our movements, the alertness of our eyes as strangers approached us, and the impulsive way we reacted to any potential threat, spoke volumes,” (108) to draw readers in to learn more. Shaka also put a big emphasis on how important writing was to him and his experiences. Many people find salvation in writing. It is known to have a healing affect on damaged soles. It was neat to have that, although Shaka and I are completely different human beings, we both shared the common love for writing. When I went through adversity in my life, I turned to paper and pen for comfort. I truly thinking writing saves people from their own selves. In Shaka’s case, he needed to write to record and keep his mind active. And by the way he writes, I feel that he had these words running through him each day. Something I really enjoyed about the format of this book is that it is very much in first person stream of consciousness. While writing in the stream of consciousness way, the audience was really able to get into Shaka’s mind, and better comprehend how he understood the world around him. As the audience read, they could not only follow Shaka’s thought process, but also see through his eyes. Another interesting aspect to Shaka’s writing is that he is very descriptive. The amount of description he uses allows the audience to literally feel as if they are there with him. “My dreams of growing old with my family were an illusion that shriveled up like a prune sitting in the sun.” (109) He was very descriptive in every way to describe every emotion he was feeling during certain events. I recall vividly him remarking on the rape scene that occurred in the prison. His horror of being aware of such an event drove him slightly mad. He questioned how someone could become so desperate, so primitive, and so vile, as to force sexual intercourse on another human being. What frightened him the most was how long it went on until someone acted upon the injustice that was occurring. This also made him have deep internal conversations. He wondered if someone he knew, or even himself, could get so desperate as to do that to another human being. This book also contained a lot of Shaka’s personal reflections. A majority of his reflections were about his life and also about his future. The audience followed the events that Shaka went through that sparked certain reflections within him. “With everything I had experienced, I knew it was only a matter of time before I became a dead man walking or a death machine; it was all in fate’s hands.” (109) The type of moods his reflections set off were various between chapters. In the case of the previous quote, it was during a very difficult time on his journey that he stated that. Upon looking back at my process of engulfing Writing my Wrongs I realized that I went on a journey. Just as Shaka created this book based on his journey through life, I feel that this book sent me on a journey as well. I first got to experience what life is like in the shoes of another person. It was a very unique feeling to relate to Shaka, even though our back stories are not similar. I vicariously experienced life in prison, and the thoughts that one experiences while going through that ordeal. I also vicariously experienced the divorce of my parents, and life in the drug world. It was honestly an eye opening experience. Overall this book brought together an audience to share an individual’s personal experience. It was successful in that it truly was an engulfing story that engaged all audience members. I would recommend Writing my Wrongs to anyone. It is a story about overcoming in the face of adversity, and also how it is possible to cope and heal from one’s life trials in a healthy way.
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