Free tells the heartbreaking stories of 6 inmates who have been freed and are struggling to re-acclimate into society. Their lives have never been easy: not before, during, or after their incarcerations. Free puts the spotlight on an important issue for that has many problems and few easy solutions.
Lauren Kessler writes in an easy to follow narrative style, making this nonfiction book appealing to readers of all genres.

Thank you Source Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Free is an important book to fully examine the impact of mass incarceration on individual's lives, families and communities. One of the many failures of the prison industrial complex is the lack of preparation for re-entry back into communities - from a prison culture of "learned helplessness" to the innumerable bureaucratic barriers, biases and policies that individuals face once they are are released. This book shares in-depth stories of six individuals who are trying to navigate re-entry and in some cases restorative justice. These stories are eye-opening and compassionate and put a human face on this social problem. Another compelling part of the book is a description of a simulation conducted by a not-for-profit organization to fully illustrate the impossible task of re-entry (from buying new closes, signing up for documents and benefits, finding housing, finding a job, getting food, etc.) This book is an important call to action for prison reform, restorative justice and services to help the formerly incarcerated successfully re-enter into our communities.

“Prison is supposed to be punishment.”

I’ll admit that I’ve had that thought before when it comes to showing compassion towards an inmate. If you’ve committed a crime and have been sentenced to prison, it shouldn’t exactly be pleasant, right?

“Free” by Lauren Kessler points out the hypocrisy of my thought. By documenting the experiences of several inmates, she presents a range of experiences and stories of what it’s really like to be behind bars—and what it means if and when you get out.

If I expect someone to be punished for committing a crime, what exactly does that punishment look like? And if you come out of prison worse than when you went in, what does that mean for the society you’re reentering?

By sharing their stories, Kessler helps to demonstrate that these are real people—not statistics—and learning what they went through both before and after they ended up in prison really opened my eyes. It made me angry, sympathetic, and empowered to look at what my city is doing to ensure that those released from prison are actually able to have a fair shot at having an actual fulfilling life.

A deep dive into a topic I hadn’t really thought that much about, but definitely won’t forget.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for my advanced copy.

Available now.

600,000 people get released from jails and prisons each year. What happens to these people? While 68% return to incarceration within three years, what obstacles did the remaining 32% successfully hurdle to achieve real freedom? Free uses the stories of six former prisoners to show the challenges that reentry to society brings to the newly freed.

The six people profiled here have varied stories. There is Vicki, convicted of identity theft crimes used to support her drug habit, still battling with meth and heroin addiction. There are Sterling and Arnoldo each imprisoned for gang crimes at a young age. They are now prison buddies trying to support each other in and out of prison. There is Trevor, who carjacked and killed a beloved local businessman while only fourteen. Will his ambition for a better life while in prison help or hurt his chances for a new life outside? Catherine, a victim of abuse, who at thirteen with her twelve-year-old brother killed her father’s live-in girlfriend. Finally, there is Dave, who murdered his bullying father and brother and then set their house on fire. Will any of them still be Free by the end of the book?

There are important lessons here both for those inside and outside prison. Is society setting itself up for chronic recidivism by creating such high hurdles for successful reintegration into society? Does society even want to rehabilitate prisoners? Or do they only seek punishment that does not end at the prison’s door? This is book everyone should read. 4 stars!

Thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Non-fiction

Enlightening, Engrossing and Exhaustively Researched!

Free follows the lives of 6 prisoners as they re-enter society. Kessler chronicles their crimes, their time served, the programs they've participated in and the obstacles they face leaving prison.

Is there such a thing as rehabilitation? Do second chances exist? And if so are we really giving people the opportunity to try? It was a fascinating look at a segment of society that we don't really talk or think about. America is one of the most penalistic countries in the world and we have a high recidivism rate (being sent back to prison for a crime). In many cases, these new crimes committed can be as simple as not informing the parole officer of a new address. Given that securing steady living arrangements is often supremely difficult reoffending can be extremely easy.

Kessler makes a strong case that the deck is stacked against the prisoner regardless of circumstances. She details the kinds of opportunities that are possibly available, the opportunities that don't exist and the difficulty of attaining even one of the primary needs for success. These 6 individuals come from a variety of different backgrounds, so reading their stories is eye opening.

The author proves that reform and programs are needed. What is available is underfunded and the attitude of the general public towards offenders contributes to the strain. Alas, I think a lot more attention to the topic and more books like this one are needed before change can be affected.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for gifting me a review copy of Free by Lauren Kessler. In exchange I offer my unbiased opinion.

Wow!! This book grabbed me right from the start and held my interest throughout. I sat down with my morning coffee and read straight through until I was ready for my afternoon tea. I was invested and compelled by the personal narratives shared in this eye opening immersive reporting. The author highlights, explains & shares the obstacles faced by those who are incarcerated for decades, usually as teenagers and must now integrate back into a society as an adult, with very little knowledge of a world full of new technology. For many they are ill equipped to handle the pressures, expectations and legalities facing a convict in both a professional and personal matter. It’s a system that often fails and this book chronicles the difficulties those returning to freedom are faced with. Using the personal story of six individuals really made this book easy to understand and grasp how much is at stake. I admit, I had some preconceived prejudices and I thank the author for making me more aware and now compassionate for those who are seeking a new start.

I highly recommend this book.

Free is the new book from award winning author Lauren Kessler.
The cover provides a good guess as to what's inside - which is a fascinating, eye-opening look at what happens after an incarcerated person is released from prison. The statistics alone tell a story.

"With just five percent of the world's population, the United States accounts for close to 25 percent of the world's prison population." "...on any given day one-third of adult Americans are either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole."

And building on that - "Nearly half of all who are released are rearrested within the first year, and two-thirds are rearrested within the first three years." So what happens when an incarnated person is released? How are they prepared? What help is available pre and post release? After reading Free, I can see where there are cracks in the system and a set of stumbling blocks just waiting. What can we as a society or as an individual do?

Kessler has opted to combine the investigative bit with a window into the personal lives of six released prisoners and their 're-entry' journey over the course of a few years. How do you measure success? Being released is not equal to free. I found the stories of the six people to be compelling, especially that of Sterling Cunio. Those personal stories illustrated the hurdles or re-entry well.

Kessler's writing is forthright, knowledgeable and compassionate. Free is a thought provoking book that will have you thinking.

Have you ever wondered what happens to people when they are released from prison? If you have, then this is a book that you should pick up. Kessler follows the path of several people who get out, for various crimes and for various lengths of time. These are their stories.

This was an eye opening, interesting read regarding life during, but more importantly after incarceration. It is a very disheartening reality into the revolving doors of our (U.S.) prison system. There are real life bios of people who’ve been incarcerated & released after decades, their hardships, successes & failures. There are statistics & studies showing that not only is re-entry into society, more often than not a failure, but our entire United States Justice System is a complete, useless & utter mess. Any chance of a successful re-entry into society hinges on non-profit organizations of which there is little money, few volunteers & fewer people who never have the opportunity to take advantage of these programs in order get on the right track. I knew a person’s upbringing and/or mental health could lead them to crime, but I learned that punishment by way of incarceration where gangs, hierarchy & a generally negative & violent environment could be so detrimental that it leads to hopelessness.

After seeing crime shows (ie: The First 48, etc) & cheering when the criminal is caught, tried & sentenced, I am now saddened because if these people get out, they will likely continue to be a danger to society and they’ll be back in the prison system. I still don’t believe that all people can be rehabilitated, but I now believe a large number of them can be.

We spend so much money to incarcerate people, but nothing to try to rehabilitate them back into society. It’s no surprise that in our country if big bucks can’t be made fast, changes to the system won’t be made.

In FREE, Lauren Kessler tells the story of what comes after you've been locked away for years. Whatever your circumstances, you emerge a changed person into a world that sees you differently, treats you with indifferent, cruel, bureaucratic disregard. This is not an easy book to read, but it is an important one for anyone who wants to know the entire picture of what happens after the verdict, the time served, and the life interrupted. I am forever changed by the stories Kessler shares in her unflinching, brilliant prose. I received an advance copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Interesting Yet Documentation Is Substandard. This is a work of narrative nonfiction where the author uses case studies of six people she has followed for some period of time as they fight to get released from prison and come back into the non-correctional life. As such, it is quite well done, though readers who struggle to follow multiple characters in a fiction book will likely struggle to follow along here, as the author herself is largely the only commonality among the six (though two of them knew each other on the inside, their stories are largely separate and told separately). Indeed, the only real negative is that the author makes a lot of claims... that the scant 10% bibliography (at least in the advance edition I read) fails to really document. And thus the star deduction. Still, a solid work and one worthy of consideration. Very much recommended.

✨Book Review✨

Thank you to @sourcebooksfire for the eARC of Free: Two Years, Six Lives, and The Long Journey Home by Lauren Kessler.

Have you ever thought about what it’s like for someone freshly released from prison? How do they acclimate back to society? How do they find housing, a job, clothing, etc.

I haven’t. At least, not before this book.

The most I’ve thought about it was for the characters in Shawkshank Redemption. That movie is one of those I’ll rewatch every time it’s on, I even read the Stephen King novella a while back.

Recidivism is high here in the US and at least part of the reason is because it is so dang hard to re-acclimate to society as a felon. Ex-prisoners who truly want to make a difference in the outside world have a long row to hoe and you find out just how hard in this book.

@laurenjkess follows six people over two years sharing their obstacles and successes. I talked to my husband multiple times about this book while I was reading. And I highly recommend it anyone and everyone. It was eye-opening and something I believe needs to be talked about further in our society!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Publishes tomorrow! April 19th.

QOTD: What’s a subject you feel our general society should know more about?
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#freebook #sourcebooks #laurenkessler #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookreading #bookrelease #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookbirthday #pubday #happypubday #happypublicationday #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #readersofig #readersofinsta #readerslife #readthis #readthisbook #bookcommunity #readercommunity #readingcommunity #ebookreader

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Free by Lauren Kessler

The criminal justice system, especially prison, is a huge interest of mine and has been since I studied it in college. I don’t have enough room to describe how aggravating the U.S. prison system is because of systemic racism, mass incarceration, privatization, etc. But another area that is critically important but doesn’t get as much focus is a prisoner’s re-entry into society.

I think Kessler does a great job of explaining the challenges those recently released face—from not having transportation or supportive family to struggles finding employment and navigating strict parole guidelines.

Explaining some of these challenges by sharing stories of recently-released prisoners helps “bring the points home” and show how difficult it can be.

I’d encourage everyone to read this and learn more about the re-entry process, how challenging it can be, and how it impacts recidivism rates in the U.S.

Thank you @netgalley, @sourcebooks for the #gifted copy. Free releases TOMORROW!

Lauren Kessler has written a thought-provoking study on the uphill battles of six individuals who are released from prison after serving their sentences. The crimes vary and the personalities of these six people vary even more.
Lauren tells it with eyes wide open, no frilly borders or pretty colors here. This is an eye-opening read, it reveals there’s plenty of room for improvement in America’s legal system, but there are no simple solutions. When the prisoner is freed and walks out of the prison gates, it’s like a crapshoot. You can only hope for the best.
This would be a difficult book to read for people who have been victims of crime. The level of compassion would be understandably lower. But it’s an interesting study based on facts, not emotions, and it’s a further testament to avoid ever breaking the law in the first place. Your battle is never truly over.
Sincere thanks to Sourcebooks for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Free by Lauren Kessler

Published: April 19, 2022
Sourcebooks
Pages: 293
Genre: Nonfiction
KKECReads Rating: 3/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Lauren Kessler is an award-winning author, (semi) fearless immersion reporter and narrative nonfiction writer who combines lively storytelling with deep research to explore everything from the hidden world of a maximum-security prison (A Grip of Time: When prison is your life) to the seemingly romantic but oh-go-gritty world of ballet (Raising the Barre: Big Dreams, False Starts and My Midlife Quest to Dance The Nutcracker) to the surprisingly vibrant world of those with Alzheimer’s (Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer’s). She has dived into the wild, wild west of the anti-aging movement (Counterclockwise: My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate and Other Adventures in the World of Antiaging) and weathered the stormy seas of the mother-daughter relationship (My Teenage Werewolf).
Her books have been Washington Post and Los Angeles Times bestsellers, Wall Street Journal “best” selections, Pacific Northwest Book Award winners, and Oregon Book Award winners. She is a national speaker and workshop leader who has twice been a guest on the late/great David Letterman Show.
Her journalism has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, O magazine, Ladies Home Journal, Prevention, Woman’s Day, Utne Reader, The Nation, newsweek.com, and salon.com.
She is a Pacific Northwesterner (by choice, not birth), a blogger, a back-country hiker, a long-distance bike rider, and -- as her long-suffering family knows well -- a quadruple Aries.

“It was not always like this.”


This book was exceptionally well researched and had a lot of vital statistics. Lauren is passionate about helping prisoners reenter the world and helping them in whatever way she can as a mentor and friend.

My feelings about this topic are complicated. I want to believe that people can change. And that if you commit a crime at 14, you can grow and better yourself by 40.

But I also really can’t fathom expecting the victims' families to be supportive of early release. I’ve lost two loved ones to violence. And if the offender ever asked me to forgive them or tried telling me about the things accomplished in prison, it would not change the facts.

Murder, regardless of age, background, etc., is never alright. And just because the crime happened while the offender was a minor does not mean they should be given a second chance.

My aunt will never get a second chance. My childhood friend, who was days away from turning 18, will never get a second chance. She will never get to graduate college, fall in love, or have babies. She will never get to find a passion and explore her possibilities.

Because someone took that from her. Took her from us. So, while the writing was good and the research well done, I cannot say I agree with this very biased book.

It is apparent that Lauren has developed feelings for these people. Not romantic at all. But she is willing to defend what they have done and has argued for their release.

It took me a pretty long time to finish this book. I had to take several breaks because I would get so upset by the content. I needed space. I don’t think I will be reading anything by Ms. Kessler in the future.

I can respect her views, and I tried to see her side. But I cannot imagine looking the parents of a murder victim in the face and advocating for the person responsible for being released from prison early.

Perhaps it is because I know what sitting on the victim's family side of the table feels like, but I am not quite as ready to see what positive things have been accomplished behind bars.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I am a big supporter of dismantling our justice system, especially corrections, so I was very excited to read this book. I thought it did a good job of combining justice statistics with stories of real people released from prison.

I did find it hard to follow pretty often because I couldn’t remember who was who. I also wish the author would have incorporated more information about challenges specific to queer people in corrections but there was attention on disparities based on race. The framing of these stories also seemed at times like you should sympathize with these people because they’re doing everything right, but anyone who fails to turn their life around doesn’t deserve release.

Overall a good introduction to corrections/probation and a great way to humanize the people that we will someday see reenter society

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4660655681

3.5-4 stars
Lauren Kessler takes a look at America's prison system and what really happens when an individual is released back to society, focusing on a few who have spent a decade or more behind bars for crimes ranging from drugs and forgery to murder.  While the data and facts were well researched and quite eye-opening, I felt there was something lacking in the personal stories, or maybe I was just expecting more about certain individuals.  Overall a very interesting read.

This book was eye opening to say the less and I loved every second of it. If you want to read something that makes you want to finish it in one sitting this is the book for you. Read as you follow a long with the lives of Arnoldo, Trevor, Catherine, Dave, Vicki, As they tell their stories. I highly recommend this to everyone.

This book is both a heart wrenching and inspiring compilation of stories tying together experiences from 6 different individuals who have navigated incarceration, release and re-entry into general society after serving their prison sentences.

I found the writing to be extremely compelling and learned a lot that I just didn't know about the system, the challenges and studies associated with what successful re-entry looks like and how to minimize recidivism. The individual stories were compelling and the author does an amazing job of putting real life experiences in front of the reader and contextualizing all of the barriers and challenges to re-entry for an individual coming out of incarceration.

While I really appreciated all of the different personal stories that this book follows through the process, I did struggle a little bit with keeping all of the individuals straight. There was a lot of moving in between different individual stories and that made it a little difficult to catch up as the switches were made.

Overall, I really appreciated this story - I think it's an important work that folks should read and an important tool to put individuals in someone else's shoes and to see the system through someone else's viewpoint.

Thank you to NetGalley, Source Books, and the author for an advance copy for me to read and review!

A moving and compassionate book following six people as they navigate the world of incarceration. Several have been imprisoned since they were young teenagers, several are addicts, all are struggling with this new world they've been released into (or are hoping to be released into), one that has left them behind in terms of technology, and the ability to function in 'normal' society once they've been released.

Lauren has taught writing inside prisons for many years and writes knowledgably about her subject, how people adapt - or don't - within the system and hierarchy within the prison walls, and the judgement and prejudice of those of outside the system. The lack of options inside - library, schooling, mental health/addiction care and support, training options (trades), etc., - is partly why so many ex-cons relapse outside. Prisons are increasingly 'for profit' rather than trying to rehabilitate the people they suck in. For profit anything does not always mean better to those it's supposed to serve.

This was an excellent book and is recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in the world of prisons (American though it is - she does make a note that the Norwegian prison system is focussed on rehabilitating its prisoners, supporting their eventual re-entry into society as the ultimate goal). It's frustrating yet hopeful, and I am *still* rooting for Sterling and hope that his bid for early release is ultimately successful.