Why do some prisoners who have been released from prison go back behind bars within just a few years — or in some cases, months or weeks? What social and economic systems contribute to or even drive those outcomes? Lauren Kessler answers those questions through the personal stories of six formerly incarcerated adults in her new book, “Free: Two years, Six Lives, and the Long Journey Home.” Two of those she profiles committed violent crimes as minors but were treated as adults as they were tried and sentenced. Kessler joins us to talk about the defeats and victories these six adults experienced as they reentered the outside world — and shares her insights into why and how their stories unfolded as they did.