In last night’s mail I received the manuscript pages and the book proposal for Earning Freedom that Carole typed for me. This morning, at 3:15, I began my first read and edit. I am happy to have this project. The work will carry me through the remainder of this year. These purposeful steps serve multiple needs for me. By writing a new manuscript, I am able to sublimate some of the repressed emotions into a tangible product that has meaning; I am able to make clearly-defined progress; I am able to hold on to beliefs that when I finish, I will have created a book that contributes to society; and I am able to envision the ways that the work I do each day will facilitate my success upon release.
I’m also hopeful that through this work, I can motivate some of my fellow prisoners to write. I’ve met numerous men in prison who have said that they want to write a book. Certainly, I believe that every individual has a story to tell. The challenge is to write the story in a manner and style that will hold the attention of readers. For a writer like me, that effort requires many hundreds of hours.
More skillful writers have an easier time weaving words into sentences and paragraphs that flow easily. I find the creative effort therapeutic, though I do not find it easy. I am glad that I devoted my first decade of confinement to independent study programs, as the writing discipline those university courses required have prepared me well for the solitude of imprisonment.
I enjoyed a wonderful visit with my wife today. Since we did not visit during the first two weekends of May we’ll be able to visit on this coming Memorial Day holiday as well. We rarely enjoy those opportunities to share two days together in a single week, so this is a special weekend for us. I feel grateful for every second I get to spend with Carole, as when her hand is in mine, even under the bright lights of a prison visiting room, I feel freedom.
Before our visit I enjoyed a shorter exercise session. I ran six miles. The run lifted my tally to 1,428 miles over the past 161 days.
Friday, 22 May 2009
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