After finishing “Writing Our Way Out,” I feel more aware of the reality behind the justice system. It’s easy for us to label people in jail as just criminals. It’s easy to assume these people are nothing more than the crimes they committed and not dig any deeper than the surface level. Very rarely do we dive into the circumstances and backstories of these individuals and truly ask “Why?”. The beauty of “Writing Our Way Out,” is that it does just that, forces us to dive into the backstories of these imprisoned men and see them as complete human beings and not just their actions.

I was happy to see that many of the men who participated in the writing program ended up turning their lives around after being released. One theme I saw that all these reformed men possessed was something to keep them motivated. For many of them, that was religion or their families. It’s no coincidence that the men who most successfully reformed were the ones who were most motivated and grounded by something bigger than themselves. Not only were they turning their lives around for themselves, but for God or their families. I also was happy to see that the writing of their stories did the intended job of helping them to reflect on and reconcile with their pasts. Sometimes we can be confused by our own thoughts and until we really lay out everything into words or writing it is difficult to see and accept the reality of the past.

The story that definitely impacted me the most was Naji’s. At a young age, Naji’s father was never present in his life, and then his mother passed away unexpectedly. As a result, Naji went to live with his grandparents. Instead of cherishing what little piece of their daughter they still had left, her kids, Naji’s grandmother tormented and abused them mercilessly. She would become outraged and any small mistake and beat them as punishment. This constant abuse and feeling of not having a true home led Naji down a path of drug use to escape. He then began stealing to sustain this habit and eventually was incarcerated. While incarcerated, however, he began to try and educate himself. He discovered the Nation of Islam and became infatuated with it, especially the fact that the first man on earth was black. Eventually, he was finally released and he learned of his grandmother’s Alzheimer’s. She had forgotten the years of abuse she inflicted upon Naji and his brother. He still took care of her and continued rebuilding his life. The combination of the things he learned while studying the Muslim faith and Dr. Coogan’s writing class helped him to reflect on and re-evaluate his life. This story was so tragic to hear because of how my grandmother was so different from Naji’s. My grandmother was always so supportive and loved us unconditionally. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to experience such traumatic abuse from a family member. This also overall just made me reflect on how lucky I am to have the family I do and the positive environment I have grown up in. I was thankful before, but hearing what these men went through put things into a whole different perspective.