Although I expected this book to address the crimes and actions of the convicts, I was surprised to hear the men’s stories from their childhood.  After the first half of reading this book, I realized that social structures and environments are almost certainly determining factors into how peoples lives develop. Prevalent issues such as divorce, drug use, lack of a nuclear family, and emotional/physical abuse had a life changing impact on the lives of the storytellers.  For most of the convicts, the struggle to belong to a tight-knit family unit was the origin of emotional trauma.  As a result of emotional distress, these men took advantage of poor coping mechanisms in their environment, such as drugs, prostitution and crime.

When it comes to storytelling, this book unveils the high degree to which storytelling allows people to self reflect on their lives.  As the book progressed and the convicts continued to share their stories they became more open with David Coogan as well as themselves.