Author: Angelos Charalampos Bouras

Questions for Tuesday’s lunch:

(Kelvin and Terrence) Obviously, being in prison has shaped your life paths and personality. But to what extent do you think that your incarceration has defined your life?

(Kelvin and Terrence) One of the takeaways of the book is the injustice within our justice system. What are some things that you think could be applied to get closer to a just and meritocratic society?

(Kelvin and Terrence) What are the main takeaways of having contributed to the publication of a book?

(Kelvin and Terrence) What are some things you have regret in life and why?

(David Coogan) How does it feel to have been engaged to that extent with people in prison but have not been one of them? Did you start seeing specific patterns, understanding them better, and empathizing with them?

For Thursday’s lesson, I prepared by focusing on a specific character that was particularly interesting and motivated me to delve more into his story. Nanji had one of the most significant personal changes during his lifetime with his ideology and approach in life being shifted during his time in prison.

Throughout Nanji’s story, some common themes were highlighted that convey bigger ideas about life. Firstly, the common theme of identity was challenged through his struggles of questioning himself. Under the umbrella of identity, many other aspects come into play including religion and race. Nanji communicates the broader concept of religion as an incentive for change and as a supporting mechanism. Race is perceived as a characteristic that goes beyond skin color being a shaping element of his character development. Finally, a driving force for positive change in his lifestyle and personality is the connection with family through the characters of his wife, daughter even her grandma, empowering the concept of transmissive love.

Writing our way out truly was a transformative book.

We are used to consuming happy-ending books with a start, middle, and end while this book does not follow that structure. I found really interesting the placement of the stories throughout the book and even though in the beginning it may have been confusing, after a few chapters it made total sense. This structure allows the reader to find common themes across the main characters and dive deep into their stories. Even though there is a flow followed in the book, it basically does not have an ending. It is based on real people continuing their lives outside the book and therefore continuing their own version of the book and their families are going to be the next generations to continue and so on.

Moreover, this book changed to a significant extent the way I view certain things. I was always trying to be aware of my privileges but after reading the stories of people living around me, I truly understood how privileged I am and how significant that can be in someone’s life. This book taught me that the easiest thing we can do is to judge someone based on their outcomes but most of the time that comes from a place of privilege and ignorance. We truly can not understand someone’s path in life until we start listening to their stories; they truly are a transmission power that unites and shapes people for the better.

Therefore, Writing Our Way Out sheds light on the potential for writing as a tool for rehabilitation and personal growth, offering a poignant exploration of how storytelling and self-expression can provide a pathway to redemption and transformation for those who have been entangled in the criminal justice system.

Writing Our Way Out was definitely an insightful introductionary book to storytelling and real-life experiences of prisoners. It captured to a big extent not only the life as a prisoner but the whole story behind each individual, highlighting the origins and uniqueness of each individual, something that is frequently ignored when it comes to less privileged people. The course of the professor was a catalyst for the students not only to share about their backgrounds but to reflect on them, giving meaning and making a connection to their lifestyle.

A common theme among the prisoners was a form of abuse or marginalization even starting in their childhood. Whether they grew up in a limited-income household, without parents, or with abusive parents, they all developed traumas and were exposed to hurtful environments that could not easily escape from. This connotates the impact early life can have on people since the biggest part of our personality and character traits are developed during that time.

Another observation of the book is the tendency of people to assume people’s backgrounds. I am going to be honest, even, I was biased before reading this book, and up to an extent I still am what this book taught me is to listen to people and try to understand them. Punishing and judging people based on their actions may sound like justice and part of meritocracy but this takes a lot of parameters out of the game and is based on a lot of assumptions. We are not born equal and with the same privileges leading to people taking different lifepaths in life. That made me also think of the time we visited an underage prison in the capital while I was in middle school and I was shocked at how people my age could be in prison even though we share more in common than differences. Therefore, the book questions the justice system we currently use and incentivizes people of listening and think before coming to conclusions.