Discover Most Popular Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

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Title: Confessions of an Undercover Agent: Adventures, Close Calls, and the Toll of a Double Life

Author: Charlie Spillers

Narrator: Aaron Killian

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-27-16

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 80 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

This true story of an ex-Marine who fought crime as an undercover cop, a narcotics agent, and finally a federal prosecutor spans a decade of crime fighting and narrow escapes. Charlie Spillers dealt with a remarkable variety of career criminals, including heroin traffickers, safecrackers, burglars, auto thieves, and members of Mafia and Mexican drug smuggling operations. In this riveting tale, the author recounts fascinating experiences and the creative methods he used to succeed and survive in a difficult and sometimes extremely dangerous underworld life.

As a young officer with the Baton Rouge Police Department, ex-Marine Charlie Spillers first went undercover to infiltrate criminal groups to gather intelligence.

After Baton Rouge, he joined the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and for the next five years continued working undercover, from the Gulf Coast to Memphis and from New Orleans to Houston. He capped off a unique career by becoming a federal prosecutor and the justice attaché for Iraq.

The book is published by University Press of Mississippi.

Members Reviews:

narrator needs work

the story would have been better if the narrator would have been onto the story himself, it seemed as if he was getting bored reading the story. to me he wasn't a very good narrator. the story was good, but the narrator needs to learn how to keep the listener involved and interested in the story a little more. otherwise the agent had a awesome story, and I commend him for h is bravery and diligence in undercover work.

Good, but not awesome.

I liked this one. I didn't love the book but I think that it's worth listening to.

Awesome book! Entertaining and Exciting!

Love it!! Keeps you locked in and forced! very interesting stories, seemed like a movie at times.

Book is fine. Narration is terrible.

This narrator would be great for the news but not for a crime book. His renditions of the criminal voices sound like cartoon characters. One of the lead criminals sounded like Chief Clarence Clancy Wiggum from the Simpsons. Just awful. First book I ever returned.

So/SO

It was a so,so book. I din't feel it was a great book having been in law enforcement for 37 years myself. I wouldn't recommend it.

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Title: The Girl Who Escaped ISIS

Subtitle: This Is My Story

Author: Farida Khalaf, Andrea C. Hoffmann

Narrator: Lara Sawalha

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-19-16

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 188 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A rare and riveting firsthand account of the terror and torture inflicted by ISIS on young Iraqi Yazidi women and an inspiring personal story of bravery and resilience in the face of unspeakable horrors.

In the early summer of 2014, Farida Khalaf was a typical Yazidi teenager living with her parents and three brothers in her village in the mountains of Northern Iraq. In one horrific day, she lost everything: ISIS invaded her village, destroyed her family, and sold her into sexual slavery. The Girl Who Escaped ISIS is her incredible account of captivity and describes how she defied the odds and escaped a life of torture in order to share her story with the world. Devastating and inspiring, this is an astonishing, intimate account of courage and hope in the face of appalling violence.

Critic Reviews:

"Farida Khalaf's story is harrowing but crucial - especially when it comes to understanding what ISIS actually is and does." (Glamour)

Members Reviews:

WOW

Shattering, eye-opening story of a young woman facing down the greatest evil of our age with grace, dignity and incredible courage.

Could NOT put this book down. Outstanding.

Wow....a must read!

Farida's captivity is frightening and brutal beyond words. Her inner strength is contagious and with that courage she saved other young women. She has effectively pulled back the curtain of radical Muslims and the light she put on them will not be forgotten. This is a must-read!

Great read!!

this was a great book it was the first one that I have read like it. I usually just read true crime stories so this was a little different and I don't regret it one bit.

Fantastic read with first hand accounts

If you could sum up The Girl Who Escaped ISIS in three words, what would they be?

Riveting eye opener

Which character as performed by Lara Sawalha was your favorite?

Farida and her friend Evan - brave girls!!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Indeed it was! Got thru this book very quickly & didn't realize it was finished already!

Any additional comments?

Very well written, easy to follow & good story.

Heartbreaking

Everyone should read this to get an understanding of ISIS. Very well written an narrated to keep me listening. finished in two days.

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Title: Born on the Fourth of July

Author: Ron Kovic

Narrator: Holter Graham, Bruce Springsteen - introduction

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-04-16

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 332 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Kovic's powerful and moving New York Times best-selling book, now with a new introduction that sets this classic antiwar story in a contemporary context.

This New York Times best seller (more than one million copies sold) details the author's life story (portrayed by Tom Cruise in the Oliver Stone film version) - from a patriotic soldier in Vietnam, to his severe battlefield injury, to his role as the country's most outspoken anti-Vietnam War advocate, spreading his message from his wheelchair.

Members Reviews:

Read it and rejoice, read it and weepSpringsteen

This is the gold standard Viet Nam memoir that brought the troop's perspective to the forefront of the anti-war movement. Ron Kovic's immersive narration "wrote with intensity and feeling as if it was my last will and testament" still hits a nerve. He wanted to write "what it really meant to be in a war, to be shot at. Not the fantasy" and boy did he.

Nothing has ever brought me into the moment quite like this classic. The Audible edition is exceptional because of Holter Graham's urgent, painful and transforming performance. Each voice is lived, from the screams in the military hospital, to the righteous indignation of Kovic. It's devastating listening to the channelled voices of wounded men begging for their mothers.

The introduction to this new edition reminds us, the military sh-- show is not over, and the lessons of history have been deliberately ignored. It's imperative that we take time to weigh the experience of both the men and women sent into battle and the civilians stuck in the way. What is the price? Who benefits?

Kovic continues to inspire despite unabating war, he finds faith, hope, and love in a commitment to nonviolence, and shows a path from despair.

Powerful war memoir

This is a short and powerful memoir by Ron Kovic, a man who was paralyzed while fighting as a Marine in Vietnam. He eventually becomes a well known war protester. In this book, he tells about his youth, his Marine training, his time in Vietnam, and his postwar experience, when he turns his anger into war protest. The narrator is really good, making this book even engaging. The trauma can be hard to take at times, but I think it is an important book and worth listening to.

Interesting, but repetitive

I liked the story and the way it's written conveys the real struggle the author went through. War is horrible. The only thing I didn't like about the book is that at some points the author was overly repetitive about some details that contain a lot of gore in them, and repeating these without an evident need seemed like an overkill.

Unflinching Look at Horror... and Courage

Trapped. In a war. In a VA hospital. In a body that ran and played as a child.

Liberation. To speaking out. To standing up in a body that barely moves. To having courage and an unceasing love of life.

Kovic's "Born on the Fourth of July" is one of the most moving memoirs, one of the grittiest tales of war and bloodshed, one of the most humane treatments of life with, seemingly, more x's than check marks, I have ever listened to.

Told in a very compelling narrative that weaves first and third person together, as though Kovic can't believe who he used to be/who he has become, this is one horrifying yet uplifting story of a courage I can only dream about.

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Title: Life's a Gamble

Author: Mike Sexton

Narrator: Mike Sexton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-01-16

Publisher: D&B Publishing

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 128 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Mike Sexton is a legend in the poker world.

In a life spanning over four decades as a poker professional, Mike has excelled both on the felt and on the business side of poker. He is a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, helped create PartyPoker in 2001, and was a key player in an event that changed the poker world forever - the launch of the World Poker Tour (WPT) in 2002. He has been a commentator on the WPT, along with Vince Van Patten, since its inception.

In addition, Mike was recognized as poker's Top Ambassador at the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year Awards gala in 2006. That same year, he won WSOP Tournament of Champions, winning $1 million in prize money - half of which he donated to charity. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009.

In this book, Mike recounts his personal experiences and gives his take on some of poker's legendary characters over the past 40 years. If you enjoy poker, are fascinated by the development of the game, and enjoy compelling poker, golf, and gambling adventures, then you'll love Life's a Gamble.

Members Reviews:

Outstanding Gambling Memoir

You likely know Mike Sexton from his enthusiastic commentary on the world poker tour, the televised poker show that changed poker forever and helped ignite the poker boom.

Before listening to his narration of his own memoir, that's all I knew about the author. I now know far more, and in as entertaining a manner as it's possible to learn about someone's fascinating life.

This book is not only about Mike; it is filled with stories of many of the legendary gambling names of the last two generations. I heard stories here I had heard nowhere else. While I would never want to live those stories, they were fascinating to learn.

Highly recommended.

Musr Read for Every Poker

If you like poker and golf, this is a must read. you will enjoy Mike's stories.

My first book on Audible!

I really enjoyed Life's A Gamble and especially hearing Mike Sexton tell it himself. I've always enjoyed gambling myself just never had the money to do it much. It was great hearing all the stories and money that the legends would bet on.

Great Read!

Thanks for sharing your stories, Mike. They were really fun to listen to and you're a great narrator.

Entertaining

Mike is a great storyteller, if you like gambling and Las Vegas you will love this book. A very entertaining book and Mike did very well with the narration.

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Title: Out on Foot

Subtitle: Nightly Patrols and Ghostly Tales of a US Border Patrol Agent

Author: Rocky Elmore

Narrator: Richard L. Palmer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-24-16

Publisher: Duffin Creative

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 80 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

When Rocky Elmore joined the United States Border Patrol, he knew it would be a journey fraught with danger. But little did he know that the very real trails he walked night after night would soon lead him into surreal encounters from a different dimension. This was never more evident than when the ghost of a recently fallen fellow agent began to appear on top of the cliff from which he died. It marked the beginning of the end to one of the most bizarre series of events in the history of the US Border Patrol.

This collection of true stories provides a rare look into law enforcement that includes not only the routine nightly patrols of the USBP but also actual paranormal activity as it happened to the agents in the field. Listeners will go on nightly patrols with the agents of the Brown Field Border Patrol Station, and will face their worst fears as they come face to face with smugglers, mountain lions, ghosts, and even a Sasquatch in this isolated no-man's land. Out on Foot takes place in the mysterious Otay Mountains just east of San Diego, California. It is an emotional roller coaster ride that is not for the faint of heart.

Members Reviews:

Spine tingling non-fiction, awesome!

This story is incredible. The facts as the author has strung them together and the inflection of the narrator's voice at just the right moments kept me in such a state of anticipation I could hardly wait to hear the next encounter. I highly recommend Out on Foot.

Excellent

A great look into the border patrol and what they do.

Excellent narration, the guy's voice is really well suited to this kind of story. Sounds a bit like stories told around a campfire.

Makes you want to change jobs. Great audio book!

Where does Out on Foot rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Definitely one of the best audio books I have listened to. The story is entertaining and I have no doubts that it is true. The narrator selected was a perfect choice for the book, giving a non-stop, great delivery!

What did you like best about this story?

I am fortunate enough to know that parts of this story are absolutely true. I did not work for

the Border Patrol but, I have been fortunate enough to have received some training from them.

Have you listened to any of Richard L. Palmers other performances before? How does this one compare?

Palmer gives the performance of a seasoned professional.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"You can run but, you can't hide!"

Any additional comments?

Excellent! On of the best audio books of my considerable collection.

Never knew the rigors of being a BP Agent until no

Awesome story, was capitulated the entire time. Not enough credit is given to border patrol.

Amazing story

I can't believe I've been so ignorant about the facts of everyday happenings by these men and women. Definitely will be looking at them much differently and with way more respect now thank you.

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Title: The Art of the Pimp

Subtitle: One Man's Search for Love, Sex, and Money

Author: Dennis Hof

Narrator: Kevin Stillwell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 05-24-16

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 24 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Dennis Hof, proprietor of the world-famous Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel and the P.T. Barnum of prostitution, charts his path to fame and infamy, while dispensing homespun wisdom about sex, sales, money, and how to live as the country's most recognizable pimp. In The Art of the Pimp, Dennis Hof offers a hilarious, insightful, behind-the-scenes look at life as the proprietor of The Moonlight Bunny Ranch, the world's most famous legal brothel, and recounts his chaotic life as the king of America's sex industry. Hof, the star of HBO's critically lauded series Cathouse, reveals the tricks of turning tricks, the secrets of his outrageous marketing stunts, and scandalous details of his friendships with porn stars, prostitutes, and politicians. Listeners will learn how Hof's "girls" negotiate the highest prices for sex, the dirty little secrets of getting men to fall in love with them, and the inside tales of "The Girlfriend Experience," the number one requested menu item. The Art of the Pimp will take listeners on a wild ride through his countless sexual conquests, romantic failures, and business successes.

Members Reviews:

if you love the sex industry then yell love this

a really cool and amazing story of Mr. huff. it was also very cool to see the brutal honest truth of his life...the good, bad and brilliant. at times I laughed and others times I shed a tear....over all I'm taking a trip to those brothels and so should you...this book is well worth the money

Great read!

Great narration, great story. Will read again soon. A keeper for sure. Loved the antics!

informative good read

loved it gave me insight on something I didn't previously know about very interesting inside of the world's oldest profession and hidden rules and regulations

an old story

a story of a pimp,con man, liar .that tried to make everyone think he was a saint. the truth unfolds through the story and you see what kind of hurt, missing emotions,denial one man has.

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Title: Trespassing Across America

Subtitle: One Mans Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland

Author: Ken Ilgunas

Narrator: Andrew Eiden

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-19-16

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 168 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Told with sincerity, humor, and wit, Trespassing Across America is both a fascinating account of one man's remarkable journey along the Keystone XL pipeline and a meditation on climate change, the beauty of the natural world, and the extremes to which we can push ourselves - both physically and mentally.

It started as a far-fetched idea - to hike the entire length of the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline. But in the months that followed, it grew into something more for Ken Ilgunas.

It became an irresistible adventure - an opportunity not only to draw attention to global warming but to explore his personal limits. So in September 2012, he strapped on his backpack, stuck out his thumb on the interstate just north of Denver, Colorado, and hitchhiked 1,500 miles to the Alberta tar sands. Once there, he turned around and began his 1,900-mile trek to the XL's endpoint on the Gulf Coast of Texas, a journey he would complete entirely on foot, almost exclusively walking across private property.

Both a travel memoir and a reflection on climate change, Trespassing Across America is filled with colorful characters, harrowing physical trials, and strange encounters with the weather, terrain, and animals of America's plains. A tribute to the Great Plains and the people who live there, Ilgunas' memoir grapples with difficult questions about our place in the world: What is our personal responsibility as stewards of the land? As members of a rapidly warming planet? As mere individuals up against something as powerful as the fossil fuel industry? Ultimately, Trespassing Across America is a call to embrace the belief that a life lived not half wild is a life only half lived.

Members Reviews:

An Exasperating Journey

I thought this would be an inspiring tale of man, personal limits, nature's beauty, and a call to really think about how our habits and oil consumption affect our fellow man and the earth. Instead it's a diatribe by a man who 1) calls attention to how cattle ranches/cattle contribute to global warming (true), but who downs cheeseburgers like there's no tomorrow; 2) Is anti-oil, but glosses over how it's kind of necessary if you're receiving care packages via air through the mail, and if your clothes are made from petroleum-based fabrics; 3) Rails about what we've done to the buffalo, but chaws and chews on buffalo jerky; 4) Is really peeved that there are so many "No Trespassing" signs to keep strangers off land, but who goes to great lengths to put distance between himself and strangers he (admittedly) knee-jerk distrusts.

There is some seriously good stuff here: Ken's relationship to cows is pathologically funny. They're referred to as "gangs of cows," and he's ultra-paranoid, though he's been told: "You DO know they're herbivores, right?" And the few bits of nature and creatures are well-written. Andrew Eiden's narration is decent, but it neither detracts nor adds to anything.

I get it; really, I do, Ken. Changes need to be made (although, in the last 20 mins. you kinda sorta question that... ?!? What was the book about then?), and I honestly respect your trek. But I really would've liked a bit more on the beauty, the life we'd like to preserve. And respect for our fellow man.

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Title: Where the Light Gets In

Subtitle: Losing My Mother Only to Find Her Again

Author: Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Michael J. Fox - foreword

Narrator: Kimberly Williams-Paisley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-05-16

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 757 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Many know Kimberly Williams-Paisley as the bride in the popular Steve Martin remakes of the Father of the Bride movies, the calculating Peggy Kenter on Nashville, or the wife of country megastar Brad Paisley. But in 2014, Williams-Paisley revealed a tragic secret: Her mother had been diagnosed with a rare form of dementia called primary progressive aphasia at the age of 61.

In Where the Light Gets In, Williams-Paisley tells the full story of her mother's illness, from diagnosis through the present day, drawing on her memories of her relationship with the fascinating, complicated, and successful woman who raised her so well. She describes educating herself on her mother's condition, letting go of the shame and secrecy that surrounded it, and finding unexpected humor and grace in a terrible situation. Her book also chronicles the ways in which her family's bond was strengthened by the experience, to becoming an awareness advocate, to accepting the woman her mother has become. It is a heartrending and inspiring reminder of how unbreakable our relationships with our mothers are.

Members Reviews:

Wish I had this book sooner

My Mother died in 2013 after a long battle with early onset Alzheimer's. My Dad died the previous year after a GBM brain tumor diagnosis and a 4 month battle. Prior to his death, Dad was Mom's caregiver and so many details about Kim's parents paralleled my parents. After my Dad's death, my sister and I became our Mother's caregivers. Fortunately we had the resources to allow Mom to remain in her home for the year she lived after Dad's death. I spent a great deal of the year "uptight". I wish I had books like this one at the time to slow me down and savor the time with Mom. My Mom was wonderful! She kept her sense of humor, was easygoing, and a joy! Where the Light Gets In reminded me so much of my Mom. The book was for me a reminder of the fact my Mom, Judy was still Judy. I think this book is a valuable tool to teach anyone who finds themselves in the caregiver role to honor the person, their memories (those are still there), and especially their dignity.

Ring The Bells You Still Can Ring

This is a lovely, honest, moving story of a daughter's relationship with the mother she loved and "lost" (even though her mother is still alive) to Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), a form of dementia that first robs an individual of her language and communication skills. I have a professional interest in this topic, having treated several adults (including one well-known actor) with this disorder, but more than that, I was pulled in to Ms. Williams' story on a human level. As Leonard Cohen puts it in the song from which this book takes its title, "There's a crack, a crack in everything"; we have all suffered losses of one kind or another, and even readers who have yet to experience the loss of a loved one will find much of value in this surprisingly insightful and fast-paced memoir. It's almost a how-to book for anyone seeking to find lessons of value or silver linings in the things one cannot change. Highly recommend!

Just What I Needed Right Now

This was a wonderful book to listen to as I'm dealing with a similar life situation.

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Title: I Swear I'll Make It Up to You

Subtitle: A Life on the Low Road

Author: Mishka Shubaly

Narrator: Mishka Shubaly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-08-16

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 207 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

An odyssey of family, heartbreak, violence, punk rock, brokenness, broke-ness, sex, love, loss, drinking, drinking, drinking, and an unlikely savior: distance running.

A misfit kid at the best of times, Mishka Shubaly had his world shattered when, in a 24-hour span in 1992, he survived a mass shooting on his school's campus then learned that his parents were getting divorced. His father, a prominent rocket scientist, abandoned the family, and their home was lost to foreclosure. Shubaly swore to avenge the wrongs against his mother but instead plunged into a magnificently toxic love affair with alcohol.

Almost two decades later, Shubaly's life changed again when a fateful five-mile run after a bar fight inspired him to clean up his life. And when he finally reconnected with his estranged father, he discovered the story of his childhood was radically different from what he thought he knew.

In this fiercely honest, emotional, and self-laceratingly witty book, Shubaly relives his mistakes, misfortunes, and infrequent good decisions: the disastrous events that fractured his life; his incendiary romances; his hot-and-cold career as a rock musician; meeting his newborn nephew while out of his gourd on cough syrup. I Swear I'll Make It Up to You is an apology for choices Shubaly never thought he'd live long enough to regret, a journey so far down the low road that it took him years of running to claw his way back.

Members Reviews:

Great book!

I loved this book. It was honest when being honest probably wasn't easy. There was so much I could relate to. I recommend it to anyone who struggles with being a flawed human.

Life changing

This book makes you hope and believe that life can change.... and gives us insight into how to change it.

just eat the bacon

loved it - highly recommend to anybody who enjoys stories of trials, tribulations and overcoming it all in spite of total chaos.

100% awesome! Excellent book! Amazing narrator!!

There are no words that I can type that will do this book justice. Even the description of this audiobook doesn't come close to describing how much pain, joy, and pleasure is in this story.

True Winner

I absolutely love it. I can't wait to read the rest of his work. His raw emotions and depictions of a life lived mirrored so many of my own, yet I could never put the words around it like Subaly has. Thank you Blackstone for believing in him and giving me this opportunity to enjoy this beautiful train wreck of life that I too am so familiar with. Cheers Mishka.

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Title: Writing My Wrongs

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

Author: Shaka Senghor

Narrator: Shaka Senghor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-08-16

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 360 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

In 1991, Shaka Senghor was sent to prison for second-degree murder. Today he is a lecturer at universities, a leading voice on criminal justice reform, and an inspiration to thousands.

In life, it's not how you start that matters. It's how you finish.

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 11, his parents' marriage began to unravel, and the beatings from his mother worsened, sending him on a downward spiral that saw him run away from home, turn to drug dealing to survive, and end up in prison for murder at the age of 19, fuming with anger and despair.

Writing My Wrongs is the story of what came next. During his 19-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 38, Senghor became an activist and a 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 portrait of life in the shadow of poverty, violence, and fear; an unforgettable story of redemption, reminding us that our worst deeds don't define us; and a compelling witness to our country's need for rethinking its approach to crime, prison, and the men and women sent there.

Members Reviews:

My Inspiration

I congratulate Shaka on his courage and life transformation . I learned of him when he appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Network. His story moved me. I, too am a convicted felon. I am a white 46 yr. old woman , with unloving childhood, who made poor choices in my life. My crime was less severe as his, but I too have felt the struggle of overcoming labels and judgment since my conviction in 2009. I did not serve time, but my life was forever changed. I had a hopeful future. Lots of potential and gifts, but never believed in myself. I bought your book on audio. I work in a machine shop. I struggled to get this job because of rumors and judgement in a very small town. I've been here for 3.5 years. Have proven myself worthy, at least as a hard worker, still not as a good woman or decent human being. I understand slamming doors in your face, but I will continue to forward. He is an inspiration to people like me out here. MyShawna Herr

Shaka's true story restored my faith in humanity.

Shaka's straight forward descriptions of life inside prison exposes the truth behind bars and sheds light on what we can do to save ourselves from our broken criminal justice system. He pulls the curtain back and takes us into the belly of the beast that is eating away at American culture.

Shaka's resilience, wisdom and strength shines through in a system dedicated to humiliation and punishment over redemption and restoration. His journey teaches us about hope and the promise of a better future.

GED Teacher

It was inspirational, and very moving.