Prison Journal: Day 8,083
September 26, 2009
I’ve been looking at my schedule, and I realize that in a few weeks, I’ll probably have time to resume my blogging responsibilities. Earlier this year I was writing between 20 and 40 blogs each week for the various websites Carole maintains for me. Since beginning my new manuscript, I suspended those activities to focus all of my writing energy on Earning Freedom. By October 15, I expect to submit the manuscript to my literary agent, and when I do, I’ll resume my blogging schedule.
It’s important for me to write daily content for the Web. I’ve kept current with the journal to record my progress as a prisoner, and I intend to keep those efforts up for as long as I remain in prison. Yet I must also write content that will provide readers with a more complete glimpse of prison life. I have a duty to show others how we can live productively inside these boundaries if we choose, and the writing doesn’t have an end.
By keeping this journal, I show readers that even after 8,083 days of prison, I can wake with an irrepressible energy, frequently before 2:00am, and focus on goals that bring meaning to my life. A strong attitude is essential to mastering a prison term, though any prisoners can build upon his strength if he sets a deliberate adjustment strategy. I’ve been doing this for longer than 22 years, but my friend, Justin Paperny, shows how he changed his life while serving a single year in Taft prison camp. Readers ought to check out his book, Lessons from Prison.
Anyway, by November I ought to update these blogs much more frequently. For now I’ll work through my final weeks of editing on Earning Freedom. I ran only six miles today, and my pace was slow. I’ve logged 2,559 miles over the past 288 days, without a single day off.
Saturday, 26 September 2009
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