Thanks for being patient with me through all the long-drawn-out preparations to publish my memoir of prison chaplaincy.
"Walls, Wire, Bars and Souls" is now available at Amazon.com. (If you'd like to 'try before you buy', you can 'look inside the book' to read the first 21 pages of the Kindle edition - click on the cover image at the link to see them. That'll give you a reasonable idea what it's about.)As always, no Digital Rights Management (DRM) has been imposed on the Kindle edition. For those who don't have Kindle e-book readers or software, the lack of DRM means that you can easily convert the file into whatever format you choose. The latest version of Calibre (which is free to download) will convert Amazon's MOBI file into EPUB (used by Barnes and Noble's NOOK reader) or any of several other formats of your choice. I use it myself as a conversion tool - it's very useful.
I'm really on tenterhooks about this book, hoping that it'll succeed in the marketplace. The subject is very important to me, and I've long been unhappy about how few books portray the reality of life behind bars. Those by current and former inmates tend to dramatize and glorify their side of the story, and demonize prison authorities (mostly unfairly). Those by former guards or executives go to the opposite extreme. I haven't yet found a book that tries to look at both sides of the story; so that's the book I've tried to write. It's as fair, honest and balanced as I know how to make it.
I hope and pray 'Walls, Wire, Bars and Souls' succeeds in getting more people interested in one of the largest single social issues confronting the USA today. We're spending as much, if not more, on incarcerating convicts and the criminal justice system as we are on national defense - and much of it is wasted or unnecessary expenditure. If we don't reform the system soon, it's going to grow into an unmanageable, self-perpetuating monstrosity. I hope my book will contribute to finding a solution.
As always, I'll be very grateful if you'll please spread the word about the book's availability. Those of you who have your own blogs or social media pages, please mention it to your readers, if you'd be so kind. Also, if you purchase a copy, please, please leave a review on Amazon.com! That's vitally important to inform other potential readers about what to expect.
Thanks to many of you for your encouragement and support during the writing of this book. A lot of my life has gone into it. I hope and pray it bears good fruit.
Peter
