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Writing My Wrongs

Life, Death, and One Man's Story of Redemption in an American Prison

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 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An “extraordinary, unforgettable” (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow) memoir of redemption and second chances amidst America’s mass incarceration epidemic, from a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100

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 eleven, his parents’ marriage began to unravel, and beatings from his mother worsened, which sent him on a downward spiral. He ran away from home, turned to drug dealing to survive, and ended up in prison for murder at the age of nineteen, full of 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; and a compelling witness to our country’s need for rethinking its approach to crime, prison, and the men and women sent there. Activists Crime Politics & Activism Social Sciences Murder
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beautiful story. really changed my mind about forgiveness of the self. woul recommend that book

hard to understand the acccent

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Loved it all. The story, the quote, the message. AMAZING.
INSPIRING.
EXTRAORDINARY.
UPLIFTING.
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.

Awesome

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Shaka.

This a must read/listen to book. From the beginning I was hooked. Shaka's writing is amazing, honest, emotional and gripping. It's apparent that at a very young age 'J' was a young male who was very self aware and recognised his struggles with his mother, his parent's separation, the situation he found himself in living on the streets and crime and fundamentally himself.

Shaka maintained his mental strength and focused on the positives in his life and what he hoped he had to look forward to.

Very inspirational, up there with the greats.

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Written with honesty with a feeling of true regret. Really pushes the issue on rehabilitation and the prison system in general. Could I forgive and support 2nd chances if my child was murdered? I can only hope I never find out.

Raw and insightful

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Life struggles. no matter who we are we all have them. And for us all. We are washed in this immense pain

He's struggling towards inner peace and other world support

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