And Redemption in an American Prison, Death, Life

I met Shaka through social media and then in person at a party celebrating his 1st year of freedom. I have read all of his books and enjoyed each of them. However, Writing My Wrongs hit close to home. I have a brother in prison serving a life sentence for murder. Shaka was in several of the same facilities my brother has been in. His memoir has me wondering what my brother's life is like and has me wanting to know his story. I stopped visiting and writing to my brother years ago but after reading Shaka's book I need to Write that Wrong.

Excellent read. The author tells it like it is, offering his experience in the prison system, which is a failed system on countless measures. I really liked the author's voice. Conveyed was the sense that he wanted to share his story to raise awareness and understanding. What I learned from this book will stay with me.

This book was not an "easy" read but an important one. As a social worker, many parts were hard to read, as I see these stories being played out in my work. I felt at turns deeply sad and deeply outraged, wishing I could jump into the book and try to help. But Shaka gives us so much hope and so many practical ideas to make a concrete difference. Don't live in a bubble. Everyone needs to know this story.

I teach college sociology courses such as Social Problems and Human Relations, and have been using Shaka Senghor's writings in my classes since 2010. This book is invaluable as a textbook! It stands alone as the book that the students relate to and appreciate the most. If you want students to rethink what it means to be human and how exactly human transformation takes place, this is not only a personal story of transformation (and WHAT a story it is!), but also blueprint map and resource on how we might take those steps collectively as a society. The power of words, reading and writing, of language, to that actual making a new human is witnessed on the pages. If you read this book in conjunction with Senghor's fiction writing, such as his novels CRACK and CRACK II, and poetry (some of which can be found in LIVE IN PEACE: A YOUTH GUIDE TO TURNING HURT INTO HOPE) you can really see where life informs art and art informs life, and the two things can no longer be separated. Not in our minds and not in our disciplinary models when designing educational curriculum. READ THIS BOOK!

Interesting story that isn't what you might expect. Certainly wasn't for me. I didn't feel the emotional connection to the story that I thought I would which left me wishing he had taken a different path to redemption. I did enjoy the writing style and I appreciate where he's coming from and the things he had to deal with. I think he did a good job of describing why he and others did the things they did. He explained how those that haven't been in prison can't understand the things prisoners go through.

Affected by a family member's incarceration more than thirty years ago I still remember the struggles our family as a whole endured during that difficult time. Glad to know this young man is moving forward in realizing all of the positive things he can contribute and his determination to dictate a better future for his children.

I would give five stars for the content of the book, which is compelling, and three stars for the writing. Senghor is not a bad writer. He makes his story more vivid by mixing scenes from different periods in his life, for instance, but there is - understandably - a lot of judgment in this book. That is not customary in great literature. Of course this story is meant to make statements, not to entertain.

Jay was middle class, grew up with two sisters, and had loving parents. When jay was a teen, his parents divorced (like *most* people’s parents). Jay spiraled into a teenage drug dealer, dog-fighting entrepreneur, and murderer in his teens. When I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I love a story of a man overcoming adversities and taking accountability for his own life and prevailing. This story was more about a punk kid who wouldn’t listen to his loving parents, sought after women and drugs, and aspired to be a “kingpin” In prison, jay converts to Islam, the most peaceful religion, while shanking men and beating up guards. On social media today, Shaka calls out Dish Nation and says “all” he did was murder an innocent man and it took him a decade to forgive himself and implies his spiritual journey should be a lesson to us all. No. Just no. I’m as unimpressed as I am uninspired.

I had never imagined living life any other way than my own. Living in white, suburban America, never in real danger or fearing for my life. I had always heard stories of rough neighborhoods where drugs and street crimes were problems but never sat down to think about it. When I found out I had to read Writing My Wrongs by Shaka Senghor, I thought, “Great, another book I have to read for class.” I never thought that it could change my whole perspective of those who are incarcerated, cities with an abundance of drug and street crimes and the entire prison system in America.
The biggest disappointment that came to me was the fact that America will spend more money on prisons than on schools. Senghor wrote, “One of the things I noticed when we pulled up was how neatly manicured the lawns were and how new the buildings looked. The prison stood in stark contrast to the dilapidated schools that sat like scabs across Detroit’s dying landscape… The state was more willing to invest money in the upkeep of prisons than they were in schools” (87). How could America be more willing to maintain the pristine look of prisons rather than invest towards a brighter future for the children of our country? This was a huge wake up call to me that I’m glad Senghor gave me. I have such a hard time dealing with the fact that instead of trying to keep youth off the streets and out of prison by putting more money into schools the state is trying to keep prisons in tip top shape because chances are always leaning towards arrested once, arrested again. How could keeping the places where people go to serve their time be more important than the place youth goes to learn the difference between right and wrong? The place they go to learn how to build their futures and to all that life has to offer. For some school is the only place they have to get away, and in places like Detroit when schools lack the funds they need to provide that positive atmosphere, youth turns to the streets, where most end up getting arrested and back into the prison game.
Shaka Senghor’s personal reflection through his time as a youth before he went to prison was a startling reality check to me. Every time he had the chance to leave his life on the streets he always ended up going back until finally it was too late. I always had hope for him when he said that he would be moving away and living with someone else away from the ‘hood. It made me so upset to read of the way he was living his life. Running away from home at the age of thirteen and living on your own? The first and only job he got was selling drugs to his friends? I work at a golf course selling food to people and get stressed out when people give me a hard time about their order. I cannot possibly imagine the stress and hurt that a thirteen-year-old boy felt selling crack on the streets of Detroit. Detroit is a harsh city to live in, and I never truly understood that until I read Shaka’s first hand experience. Along with pain and hurt from being away from and being forced to find acceptance in the streets was the desensitized sense of violence. Senghor wrote, “We were all desensitized to violence and accepted it as the way of the world we came up in. In fact, I don’t recall a time when my life wasn’t marred by violence” (97). To be so unaware of the effects of violence is not that far beyond me. With so much violence depicted in the media everyday, it is not that much of a surprise to me that more and more violence is happening. What is surprising however, are the effects it has on the people. Shaka and his friends had become so desensitized to violence that they would get drunk and high and continue to carry a gun when they were definitely not capable of making responsible decisions with them. If I had not read Shaka Senghor’s Writing My Wrongs, I never would have gotten this incredible first hand look into life on the streets, and how harsh and intense it was to live in a city like Detroit.
Throughout my experience reading Writing My Wrongs, I learned so much more about the experience a prisoner has during their sentence. At the beginning of his journey through prison, Shaka was full of hate and anger and didn’t know how to handle himself in stressful situations. He lashed out and got himself sent to the whole several times where he learned after awhile that the only person he can truly really on was himself. He read often to increase his intelligence and to simply pass the time, he also spent so much time writing down his emotions, coping through the hurt and anger. It was through these writings that he was able to reflect in upon himself and make the transformation into the person he wanted to be rather than the person he was when he entered prison. Senghor wrote, “So with pen and pad, I clung with my sanity; between that, writing letters to my family and reading their letters to me, I redeemed my soul” (249).
Reading Shaka Senghor’s Writing My Wrongs changed the way I perceive prisoners. I always forget that they are still people who made mistakes. They can learn from their mistakes if they truly put the effort into trying. A saying that rang true for me as I read this book was you get out of life, what you put into it. Not only for a person going through a huge transformation like Shaka, anyone who wants to see a change in their life has to put in the effort. This was a wake up call for me because I had been going through the motions for so long and now I have a feeling of hope that there are better things out there for everyone.

I didn't find this book believable in terms of self-reflection and change of heart and wonder why the author is touted as one who has found redemption along his life's way, as I didn't feel that was adequately presented. Both the writing and the editing are lacking so that the story is overly long and repetitive in nature. The work is replete with stock phrases and cliches that do more to interfere with the story than to enhance it. In the end, I didn't care that the author had gotten out of prison because I felt he lacked sincerity. I think he's a con who conned the system to get released, saying what he needed to say to get out. It bothers me a great deal that he is asked to speak to our school kids, as he did not prove himself to be the person I hoped he had become.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review and that's all that I can give. Shaka weaves a tale that moves in and out of time and back and forth between the beginnings of his childhood and the beginnings of his incarceration for murder. There's a review clip on the front that says that the reader should be prepared to have their preconceptions shattered. I don't know about that. Maybe if you've never encountered an ex dope boy who found religion in the penitentiary, then his story might be new, but I didn't really see that here. There were a lot of missing elements.

Shaka runs away at 14 and blames the escape on the abuse and abandonment of his mother, but we never get any real details of what that entailed, which is a BIG piece of the picture. He claims that her sending him to live with his father was abandonment. If that's all there was then I'm skeptical. I work with kids whose parents leave them home without telling them for days or weeks, or drop them off at a friends and disappear forever. We have tales of more than one child who had to be taken in by an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend because the Mom or Dad just vanished. If you say that followed a path of personal destruction and racially based pharmaceutical genocide I need a solid foundation for that journey into darkness. His redemption is based on that.

I won't say the book is good or bad. I'll only speak in terms of effective and ineffective.

Will I pass this on to a kid at risk of being swallowed by the streets? Yes

Do I think it will be transformative? Maybe, not.
I say this because Shaka has a gift for writing. It's an outlet for him. It also gives him a bit of an ego boost because of the recognition attached, but what about the kids who don't have an exceptional talent? I'm talking about the kids who are poor and the only thing that makes them feel like they are worthy is a $400 weave or a pair of vintage Jordans. If I talk to those kids about staying in school and getting an hourly wage job after graduation that look at me as if I'm speaking a foreign language. I don't have the language to speak to them and my ears aren't understanding where they are and why they do what they do. I want to help them and I thought that this book might help me do that and it just didn't.

Is the book worthy? Hell, yes.
It's a better than average memoir. I was just looking for something it could not give, and the voices of black men, especially those who have been on the wrong side of the law have been silenced too long.

Check it out.

Memoirs are always a tricky type of book to review. I want to be clear that my review is strictly on this book, and is no reflection on the author personally.

The author's story is heartbreaking, though, sadly, not unique. It's a reflection of our society, our priorities, and our broken 'justice' system. If someone had stepped in early, when this young man's life was first derailed, and all the signs were there, then perhaps his life would have turned out much differently.

Overall, the writing is fine, though not as engaging as I'd have liked. I didn't get a good sense of emotion and detail. For instance, the author spent several years in prison isolation, but he makes little mention of what that experience did to him psychologically. While he does mention a few other inmates who go crazy and/or attempt suicide, he doesn't elaborate at all on his personal experience. Long-term isolation is equated to torture, and can cause permanent psychological damage, so I'd have liked to really understand how he felt during this time.

My major issue was with the structure of the book. It's told in back-and-forth time, in two concurrent timelines. One timeline starts with him in prison, and goes through until present day. The other starts when he was a child, and runs to the time he went to prison. These two timelines are alternated, with dates at the start of sections. I could see no reason for this structure, and in fact found this technique made it more difficult to understand the trajectory of his story. I'd have preferred this told in sequential order, so that readers could get a clear sense of his downward spiral, and then his own redemption.

What this book shines in, without the author necessarily trying to give this message, is that prison doesn't work. Senghor did not find redemption because of prison, but in spite of it.

Shaka Senghor is certainly an inspiring man with an important story to share.

*I received a copy from the publisher, via Blogging For Books, in exchange for my honest review.*

Writing my Wrongs by Shaka Senghor is a powerful and honest autobiography about a man who faced endless amounts of adversity, but through his journey realizes more and more that there is plenty of life to salvage. On the front of the paperback cover that I own in small print under his name, a simple line is written that sums up exactly his adversity. “The story of a teenage drug dealer and convicted murderer who used writing to heal wounds from his childhood and reclaim his humanity.” Shaka proved to me that the adversity I have faced in my life so far and the things that I complain about on a daily basis are nothing in regards to everything that he went through.
I recently did a proposal for my Sociology class based on our prison system and the flaws I believe it has and how we can fix them. I was able to discuss it with my friends brother Traves who was in jail for six years. In Writing my Wrongs, Shaka said something that was almost exactly the same as what my friend’s brother said during the interview. “The state was more willing to invest money in the upkeep of prisons than they were in schools. They had it all backwards. Instead of treating the disease, they spent millions of dollars treating the symptoms.”(Senghor 87) I did more research on my own and agree with both of them. It hits home more for Shaka then for me because he talks about how bad the schools are in Detroit and claims that clearly these politicians think that black communities are “being set up to fail”.(Senghor 87)
It’s really funny because before I read Shaka’s book and talked to Traves, I really had no idea what it was actually like to be in jail. You see movies and instantly think that’s what it’s like. Not the case at all. When a guard tells you to never engage in homosexual activity, gamble, borrow money, or even play basketball on one of the first days you arrive, you are going to question yourself as a human being and your worth, as Shaka did. “ I started feeling sorry for myself and started getting angry with God, my parents, my teachers, and everyone else I felt had let me down.… Not once did I think about how I let myself down.” It amazes me how Shaka went from being in an absolute terrible place both mentally and physically, and turned it into a positive. I have always believed things happen for a reason in our lives. This situation is a prime example. The amount of times people have read his book and are able to apply what happened to him in their own lives is an astonishing number I am sure. I am a white male from a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts attending an expensive Liberal Arts college. You would never guess that I would be able to take anything away from a book like this, well you are wrong. If none of these unfortunate doings had ever happened to Shaka Senghor, there would be no book, and many lives that were saved from “Writing my Wrongs” simply wouldn’t have been.
Running away at the age of thirteen and selling drugs on the streets of Detroit being the first and only job you have had in your lifetime is adversity right off the bat. In this book, Shaka progresses into never making excuses for himself when in reality he easily could have. At age 13, I was in a sheltered middle school where I pretty much had everything handed to me. The only job I held at age 13 was a lemonade stand when I was seven. On weekends, I played sport with friends and really had no responsibilities besides twenty to thirty minutes of homework I had a night that I would do as quickly as I could just to get it done. I barely knew what drugs were let alone the fact that people my age could ever be selling them. Shaka and I lived two very different lives, how does one overcome so much at such a young and age? The answer is written all over the pages, confidence and perseverance.
“When I inhaled my first free breath, it was like a baby taking in air for the first time. The free air tickled my lungs and caused me to smile from deep within. I was officially a free man, and this time, I planned to do it the right way.”(Senghor 297) At the end of the book Shaka finally had a chance to start over everything, including his relationship with his soul mate Ebony. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to leave those prison doors. Even when he received parole and got transferred to a prison in Detroit must have been an amazing feeling. Many people say that prison is the worst thing that can happen to you. But after reading Writing my Wrongs, it is clear to me now that there can be many positives that can come out of it. All you have is time with yourself where you can read and write, but more importantly think. You can think about who you were and what you want to become. Shaka realized that he had another chance at life and this time he was not going to let it slip by. He made a vow to do his life the right way, and while he made this promise to himself, he helped others along the way. You don’t need go further then who wrote this review to find someone that his story had an impact on. Never again will I take my life for granted, take shortcuts, or do things that stray away from who I am as a person. There are going to be times where I slip up and make mistakes. But never will I let those mistakes define who I am for the rest of my life.

“…I am looking forward to the next phase of my journey challenging others to right the wrongs that exist in our world.” Shaka Senghor ended his story, Writing my Wrongs, with a quote that tied his whole journey into one sentence. This quote ties together both the main purpose of Shaka Senghor writing his story and his reasoning behind showing it to the world. The book itself is interesting in that it puts its readers into a whole new world and a whole different realm of thinking for most audience members. In this world of adversity and prison that Shaka experienced, readers are able to relate to him and also get a glimpse into a different type of living. For example, within the epistemic community of prison, there are similarities in how typical society functions. Before reading this book, I believed that those who were incarcerated often did not have inner feelings of guilt, regret or remorse for being in prison. The text communicated to me in a way that put me in the shoes of Shaka Senghor and gave me a whole new insight into the eyes of someone who is in prison. When Shaka spoke about the confusion he felt when his parents were constantly separating then getting back together, it really helped me to get a better understanding of who he is as a person. “As her words barreled into my ears, my heart began crumbling into pieces like saltine crackers.” (24) His words reminded me of the many people I know who have come from broken homes. His thought process at that young of an age going through divorce was heart wrenching. Shaka writes in a way that appeals much to pathos. He grabs his reader’s hearts, and holds the hearts in his hand. Through his diction and presentation of ideas, he is able to manipulate the audience’s emotions. With this skill he’s developed in his writing, he uses sentences like, “The tenseness of our movements, the alertness of our eyes as strangers approached us, and the impulsive way we reacted to any potential threat, spoke volumes,” (108) to draw readers in to learn more. Shaka also put a big emphasis on how important writing was to him and his experiences. Many people find salvation in writing. It is known to have a healing affect on damaged soles. It was neat to have that, although Shaka and I are completely different human beings, we both shared the common love for writing. When I went through adversity in my life, I turned to paper and pen for comfort. I truly thinking writing saves people from their own selves. In Shaka’s case, he needed to write to record and keep his mind active. And by the way he writes, I feel that he had these words running through him each day. Something I really enjoyed about the format of this book is that it is very much in first person stream of consciousness. While writing in the stream of consciousness way, the audience was really able to get into Shaka’s mind, and better comprehend how he understood the world around him. As the audience read, they could not only follow Shaka’s thought process, but also see through his eyes. Another interesting aspect to Shaka’s writing is that he is very descriptive. The amount of description he uses allows the audience to literally feel as if they are there with him. “My dreams of growing old with my family were an illusion that shriveled up like a prune sitting in the sun.” (109) He was very descriptive in every way to describe every emotion he was feeling during certain events. I recall vividly him remarking on the rape scene that occurred in the prison. His horror of being aware of such an event drove him slightly mad. He questioned how someone could become so desperate, so primitive, and so vile, as to force sexual intercourse on another human being. What frightened him the most was how long it went on until someone acted upon the injustice that was occurring. This also made him have deep internal conversations. He wondered if someone he knew, or even himself, could get so desperate as to do that to another human being. This book also contained a lot of Shaka’s personal reflections. A majority of his reflections were about his life and also about his future. The audience followed the events that Shaka went through that sparked certain reflections within him. “With everything I had experienced, I knew it was only a matter of time before I became a dead man walking or a death machine; it was all in fate’s hands.” (109) The type of moods his reflections set off were various between chapters. In the case of the previous quote, it was during a very difficult time on his journey that he stated that. Upon looking back at my process of engulfing Writing my Wrongs I realized that I went on a journey. Just as Shaka created this book based on his journey through life, I feel that this book sent me on a journey as well. I first got to experience what life is like in the shoes of another person. It was a very unique feeling to relate to Shaka, even though our back stories are not similar. I vicariously experienced life in prison, and the thoughts that one experiences while going through that ordeal. I also vicariously experienced the divorce of my parents, and life in the drug world. It was honestly an eye opening experience. Overall this book brought together an audience to share an individual’s personal experience. It was successful in that it truly was an engulfing story that engaged all audience members. I would recommend Writing my Wrongs to anyone. It is a story about overcoming in the face of adversity, and also how it is possible to cope and heal from one’s life trials in a healthy way.

Writing My Wrongs is an unforgettable memoir of a young boy from Detroit’s inner city whose stable home becomes disheveled; he is introduced to drugs and the fast life by the age of 14, landing himself in jail for 17 years by the age of 19. Escaping death, surviving the prion system and redeeming his life, this story reveals the power of words, the faults and failures of our correctional facilities and how one bad judgment call can not only change your life but the lives of those who love you.
Shaka Senghors life began with him living a happy life surrounded by family with his mom, dad and two sisters; his parents relationship had deteriorated early on in his life and although they tried to make it work it never returned to how it use to be. Shaka’s mom had chosen to send him to live with his dad. This choice left him feeling unwanted and that feeling was something he just couldn’t forgive or forget. With his dad being at work most of the time he was allowed more freedoms. Attempting to make their relationship work the second time around, Shaka and his father moved back into his family home. Never being able to forget the feeling of being unwanted after being sent away during their separation and being allowed so much freedom while living with his father, he refused to listen or adhere to any of his mother’s rules when he returned back to her home. It was the feeling of being unwanted by his mother that caused him to begin acting out, he wanted to show her the same way she no longer wanted him is the same way he no longer wanted her opinion. He started getting beatings for disobeying his mother’s rules and after given an ultimatum he made a choice to leave the house at age 14.
With nowhere to go and no money to support himself he turned to the streets, there he was given a place to live, a “trap house” he could call home and enough dope to sell and buy food and clothes. “All I cared about were the shoes and clothes I wore and the things other people thought about me. I was loosing my focus, my respect for the community, and ultimately my own identity.” He begins doing drugs while selling drugs teaching him his first lesson from the streets. For very short periods of time he would attempt to leave the streets behind him ultimately finding himself back in the very place he began. During one of his short jail stints he established a friendship with a young woman who upon his release had moved on and was not interested in pursuing a relationship with him. After calling her a few unkind words and a few days time she returns with her boyfriend who confronts him, within minutes he is shot several times and is running for his life.

While gun violence was all to common during this era and in this particular neighborhood it wasn’t until this very incident that Shaka insisted on keeping a weapon within arms reach at all times. Shortly after being shot he begins a relationship with a young lady named Brenda who is also a drug dealer in the area. Brenda and Shaka began selling drugs together, they buy a home together and after finding out she is pregnant, start making plans for their family together. While on the way home from a party that ended in gun shots he is approached by one of his regular white customers from the suburbs with some unfamiliar faces. Uncomfortable with the situation he tells them to leave the neighborhood, things get heated with one of the men and he begins to approach Shaka angrily. Still shaken up from being shot weeks before, he immediately takes action and pulls out his gun letting off three shots killing him for those on the street to see. He will spend the next 19 years of his young life in prison 7 of those years in solitary confinement. Within just a week of his best friend turning him in, his close friends began stealing his things and life began moving on without him seamlessly.
Within 2 weeks of coming to jail he learns about the rape of another inmate being transferred to boot camp, causing him to think about his future spent behind bars and how this could change him for better or for worse. He decided then and there he wanted to leave prison a better person than he had came in but it would take several years before this change would take place. It was during his incarceration that he began reading about historical black figures like Malcolm X and Assata Shakur, he became infatuated with reading and would spend from sun up to sun down doing just so. “I learned that my ancestors were more than passive observers of history; they were in fact an integral part of the development of civilization as we know it today. I discovered our great contributions to the world, and it was a shot in the arm of my self-worth.”
As he began reading he slowly began changing, seeing the value of his self and his life. He starts recognizing the source of his anger and frustration and begins taking responsibility for his actions. As a teenager he had struggled with depression, he contemplated suicide, jokingly with a few friends, yearning for the love and attention of a mother. His behavior in and out of school had changed and no one asked why. Although his dad was concerned, with 3 kids, 3 step kids and a new relationship he just hadn’t found the time to look deeper into what could be wrong. At one point he goes to his fathers house and grabs a shotgun, thinking of all the wrong that had occurred in his life as tears rolled down his face. Trying to place the blame one his parents, he couldn’t figure out what exactly his mother or father had done wrong to him, or how this in fact could be their fault. At this point he beings realizing his actions and his attitude are what landed him in the very situation he is ready to escape and in order to be released from his past he must take accountability for his actions.

One of the things that helped him transform his life while in prison was writing, he begins writing letters to his son, writing short stories and novels. It was one of the letters from his son that would break down the walls built up over the years to protect him emotionally. His son writes, “My momma told me why you are in prison…..Don’t kill, dad, please. That is a sin. Jesus watches what you do.” After this heartfelt letter he was determined to turn his life around and that’s exactly what he did.
In June of 2010 Senghor was released from prison; today Shaka Senghor mentors the youth headed down the same paths he faced. He is also working to eliminate prison systems preying on recidivism and encouraging reform and rehabilitation to those who want to change.
Writing My Wrongs is a novel you won’t wan to put down, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a true story and to those who love a story with a happy ending. I hope this story finds it’s way to those who feel trapped in the system and are looking for a way to escape its vicious cycle. While the hard copy is $26 you will not regret a penny spent.

While I enjoyed this book, and the author's depth into his life and the change that happened; it left me unsettled. He acknowledges his crimes and misdeeds, and takes responsibility. However, there remains a layer of racism veiled throughout his story. The area that stands out is his brutal attack on an officer - and I got the feeling that his belief is the guard deserved it, and sometimes he was treated poorly, not because of his actions and the reputation he earned but because of the white guards. I'm not naive enough to think all guards are heroes and have integrity; however, it's suspect to think that the opposite is true as well. Not all white guards are racist and punish black inmates just because. Our prison system is broken, and more power to this man for overcoming and becoming an example - and coming out to mentor at risk youth. However, we, as a society, need to quit looking at color as the reason for every wrong or right.

I came across this book a few months ago and have been meaning to read it. I put it off because I will be honest, I did not want to know about prison life. I have heard of stories about how life is in prison and why torture myself? I decided that I had to put on my big girl pants and read this book because it is not just about prison, it is about one man’s journey of redemption.

“All of which brought me to this moment, staring at a broken man’s face in the scratched steel mirror of Cell 211, in the solitary confinement wing of a correctional facility in western Michigan. It was the beginning of a journey that would culminate eight years later, when I wrote a letter to the man I had killed.”

I truly appreciate how “real” this book was. Shaka did not try to paint himself as a man in the wrong place at the wrong time. He started from the beginning and told us his story. Which really just broke my heart because it started out so well for him and the catalyst that brought him to the streets was so preventable.

The story flows from present to past and is done seamlessly. The Author really gives you all the details both good and bad. Through his storytelling you really can understand him and his downward spiral into drugs, dealing and murder. I love how he was honest about his path to the forgiveness of himself. It was not an overnight occurrence. It took him years to even get to the point were he could face the reality of how hurt and broken he was. Being able to face himself and make the hard choices to heal in PRISON with no loved ones to help him or guide him, that is strength!

This story will grab you from the beginning. You will become enamored with Shaka and the emotional rollercoaster will both be painful, heart wrenching, and compelling. I am beyond grateful that this amazing person is out there, trying to make a difference with others on the path to destruction. I recommend this book to everybody because we all need more empathy to the youth in need. Definitely a good read!

I loved absolutely everything about this book! Working with teens who have a similar life as Shaka Senghor, I found this book fascinating. I was so thankful for the honesty and transparency throughout the book. It really gave me a deeper insight into the lives of the kids that I work with each day.

Shaka grew up on the streets in Detroit, which s one of the toughest places to grow up. To those who are on the outside looking in, we think "why can't you just not sell those drugs or commit that murder? Just say no!" Being desensitized to violence make it so much easier to say "yes."
Shaka tells of his story growing up and the bad decisions he made that led him to prison, but he also shares why he did it or what influenced him to make those decisions. In some cases, he felt like he had no choice. In others, he clearly did.

Once these choices led him to prison, the reader gets a look at the American prison. He shows the reader how there is a ranking among the people in the prisons, just like we would rank people in society. I had a vague idea about this happening in prisons, but what I was surprised by was the compassion I felt for these people in prison. To be honest, my first thought when I read about this book was "You murdered someone!" However, Senghor expresses his guilt and regret in the book. In fact, he's righting his wrongs. The title of the book is clever and exactly what the book is about.

Something else I learned from the book was how broken the criminal system has become. It was interesting to read how the criminal system was actually pushing people like him into a life of crime instead of helping him stop. Along the road, he felt like he had to take matters into his own and find redemption because he knew he wouldn't find it in prison. Instead, his redemption came through pen and paper.

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I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

This memoir felt very important for me to read. I haven't picked up a book that addresses a topic like this book did; after all, the subtitle was "Life, Death and Redemption in an American Prison." I mean, WOW.

This book follows Shaka's childhood in a middle class neighborhood of Detroit during the height of the 80's crack epidemic. He was an honor roll student and a natural leader before his parents' marriage started dissolving at the age of eleven, and the abuse from his mother worsened which sent him on a downward spiral, leading him to run away from home, turn to dealing drugs to survive and then end up in prison for murder when he was nineteen. In that small period of his life, when your world is already infused with all the insecurities of being a teenager, I simply cannot imagine the pressure and uncertainty that Shaka experienced. It quite literally broke my heart that children go through this type of thing every day.

This book tackles poverty and violence in an incredibly real way. He doesn't shy away from the hard things he lived through and dealt with, even as he struggled with redemption and the fact that our worst deeds do not define us. The way this memoir opened my mind to life outside of white suburbia was outstanding, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciated it.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Within the lined paper of my notepads, I got in touch with a part of me that didn't feel fear whenever something didn't go my way - a part of me that was able to feel compassion for the men around me."

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the prison system, or is interested in a good writer, this is a book for you.

It is strange rating Shaka Senghor so highly knowing that he killed someone, but the story of his time in jail and how he learned to find a new part of himself that he wished he could have found sooner is compelling. Not only is Senghor's writing interesting - the book is well organized and interesting and at times he describes he innermost thoughts in prose - but he is brutally honest about his history. He made himself face the mistakes that he made with the goal of becoming a better person.

This book really shines in highlighting the way the prison system keeps men, particularly black men, incarcerated for life and creates a system that makes it difficult for them to re-enter society. While people may argue that if you commit murder maybe you should stay in prison forever, however Senghor points out how much prison changes men for the worst and can turn even non-violent criminals into scared and raging men and by demeaning them and keeping them from education prison doesn't offer them a way to reform to eventually do good things for their community.

Sure this book is predictable, but it's a heartwarming story.

The writing style and vivid storytelling ranks up there with the Autobiography of Malcolm X.

We learn about the upbringing of a young man whose tight knit family upbringing slowly unravels as he gets caught up in the crack epidemic that plagued many communities during the mid 80s. One thing leads to another and the author eventually kills someone. It is through his lens that we witness the horrors and brutality of the American prison system and the toll it takes on the psyche of its prisoners. The law of the jungle rings true; it's kill or be killed.

But it is through hope and circumstance that one can pick themselves up from the despair and tread the path toward redemption. Thorough self-awareness and accountability, one can truly atone for past transgressions. This book offers a glimpse into the darkness of humanity. And it offers hope for those willing to take responsibility for their actions.

I listened to this book on the store's Audible. One way I judge the value of a book is by the flashbacks I have to events in the book days later, and I've had a lot of flashbacks from this book. As one who grew up on a farm in a culture of optimism and opportunity, it was a shock to see the world through the eyes of a kid in a dysfunctional, low-income, Detroit neighborhood where the successful people were the drug dealers, pimps, and thieves -- and where a kid lives in constant fear of being shot and killed, and even of being severely beaten up by your mom. Other reviews have covered his revelations and trials in prison, so I won't repeat those here. But I do want to comment about a letter he received while in prison from the mother of the kid he killed, and how at the very end of the book he is digging through some of his stuff from prison years and runs across the letter. He reads it with a new understanding of his life and that mother's, and if that part doesn't bring a tear to your eyes, you weren't paying attention to the rest of the book.

I won't lie when I say I wasn't one hundred percent sure on weather I wanted to read this book or not. But man I sure am glad I took a chance and picked this book up. From page one to the very end I was hooked. Shaka Senghor has a way of making you feel like you were actually there seeing the story come to life.

I will admit I grew up a middle class white female in a loving home. Shaka's life is so far off how my experiences that I felt like I was reading a horror book. But the reality is that Shaka's story is the reality for many kids and adults these days.

Reading this story taught me to be thankful for my surroundings and my loved ones. Also to be aware that people need help in our community. Sometimes one person can make a huge difference in someone's life. And that no matter how terrible your life may be always hold onto hope that one day things can turn around.

I am so thankful that I received this book for free from bloggingforbooks.com for my honest review. It is a refreshing tell of street life, prison life, and then change. I love the fact we get to learn the whole story from start to finish and not just the prison side of his life. If you are looking for a story that grabs you and keeps you going to the end then I recommend this book.

For More Information about Shaka Senghor visit shakasenghor.com.

Stories about redemption have been around since man has been able to write about them. It doesn’t matter if the medium is film, TV, or literature; there has always been a fascination with people who’ve been able to catapult themselves out of the manhole of failure, crime, depression, substance abuse, etc.

Enter Detroiter Shaka Senghor and his memoir, Writing My Wrongs. To keep it short: as a teenager he was lured into to street culture, began selling drugs, was shot three times, and began a 19-year prison sentence in 1991 for murder. He went to jail as a father of two children, on the verge of being another statistic. That part of his story is common in urban cities across America, but what happened next isn’t.

After receiving a touching letter from his son, Senghor emerged in a spiritual, mental, and emotional awakening. It’s not so much that prison transformed Senghor; it’s that he discovered the integrity and mental fortitude to transform himself and didn’t let prison take that away. He used writing as a way of expression, teaching, and healing and decided that he would use his story to be a gift to the world of sorts. The contrast and concrete beauty of his conversion makes the memoir very inspiring.

Another aspect of the book that makes it stand out are the political and social overtones that are addressed in Senghor’s experiences. The effect of coming from a broken household, being a product of your environment, street peer pressure, criminal law reforms, and prison restructuring all reflect discussions taking place across the country right now. Overall, Writing My Wrongs is more than the proverbial “We Fall Down/We Get Up” story. It’s a testament to the power of the mind, and the fact that none of us should ever be defined by our lowest point.

Eye-opening, heart-wrenching. Would love to send a copy of this to my child in prison. Unfortunately, only paperbacks are allowed, this only comes in hard cover and Kindle. Please make this available to our young people in prison, his story needs to be seen and heard by as many incarcerated as possible.

I just finished reading his 'Writing my Wrongs", hard to put down as Shaka engages you in the trials and tribulations of his life. Powerful and straight to the point. This book should be a MUST read for students entering into high school especially ones that deal with disenfranchisement that society places on many of our children through no fault of their own. I read it over the course of a week which is excellent for me as with the limited time I have for reading novels. I can't say enough about this book because it wouldn't do it justice. This is a first hand look at prison life and redemption.
Give it to your age appropriate child.

Shaka Senghor recently published Writing My Wrongs, an inspiring memoir about the nineteen years he spent in prison and the series of events that led up to his incarceration. Shaka grew up in the hood of Detroit during a time in which drugs and violence were terrorizing through the city. Through his time in prison and the recent years since he has been released, many efforts have been made to put a stop to the terrible violence and low quality of living that many American’s are still experiencing today.
We live in a society with many inequalities and often are very blind to the devastating consequences other’s are experiencing as a result of them. Racism is still very prominent in America and can be seen as a byproduct of the need for our economy to have classes and competition. If a little bit of time was put into learning about other cultures and the forces that drive them to act in the ways they do, there might not be as large of a division between classes. In Shaka Senghor’s book, he shows some of the existing consequences of racism and class structure in a way that will not fail to make people think twice about society.
Of all the places in America, Detroit has really been taken over by the power of drugs and street culture. Not only does Detroit have the highest violent crime rate in America, but that rate is five times higher than the national average. Many of us have probably heard these statistics before and disregarded them, but Shaka’s writing has the power to inspire people to fight for a change. Through his vivid writing, he brings readers onto the streets of Detroit with him and makes them feel the anger, fear, and helplessness that he felt.
Shaka Senghor begins his book with a powerful prologue in which he reflects a moment in his life when he truly faced forgiveness and began the long process of transformation. He shares a letter that he wrote during a group therapy session addressed to the man he shot and killed at the age of nineteen. “Every time I think back to that fateful night, I often find myself asking the question, ‘Why didn’t I just walk away?’ When I finally found the answer, I understood for the first time the true meaning of the words ‘weakness’ and ‘strength’”(pg. 3). It was simply through this prologue that I realized everyone is capable of change and even someone who has killed a man is worthy of love and hope. It was through this and the rest of his story that I began to realize the many layers there are to every story.
Shaka starts by describing his life at home and how the separation of his parents left him feeling alone and betrayed. By the age of fourteen he was on the streets moving from friends house to friends house but ultimately living on the streets. In reference to his mother, Shaka writes, “I wanted her to hurt the way that I hurt. But more than anything, I wanted to be validated by her love. That never happened, so I turned to the streets for love” (pg. 27). It was through this time of transit that he was sucked into the drug trade. At such a young age and in such a vulnerable state, the idea of a home, food, and money was enough for Shaka to be convinced to start dealing drugs.
This book has the power to grip you from the start and keep you engaged the whole way through. Shaka alternates chapters between his time on the streets prior to incarceration and his time in prison post incarceration. This technique made for never a dull moment as every chapter left you wanting more. It also allowed for connections to be made between the street life and the prison life as many of the individuals Shaka encounters in the hood end up in prison with him at some point.
Shaka’s writing style is very vivid and is almost like a stream of consciousness, which allows the reader to feel directly connected with him. Rather than feeling as if you’re reading someone’s story, you get a sense of being right there with him as he tells you every detail of the gruesome life on the streets and in the prison. Through imagery, metaphors, and very descriptive writing, Shaka was able to challenge me to view things in a different way. His writing taught me that everyone has a unique background and that there are a lot of forces working behind the scenes that many people don’t realize. As I read this book, I thought back to the many people I have known throughout my life that come off as troublesome or aggressive. It was not until reading about Shaka that I began to realize these people were so much more than just the troublesome kid in school, they had a whole story that few people probably knew.
As soon as I finished the book, I wanted to be in Detroit helping children grow up without anger and fear. Shaka’s writing was not only a therapy mechanism for him, but also an inspiring work of art for all those that read it. I am sure I’m not the only one who now wants to share Shaka’s message with every child growing up in similar environments to his. This book opened my eyes to the circumstances many people are faced with even within the United States and challenged me to think about the deeper reasons that drive them to be where they are.
Shaka uses reading and writing as a way to find himself and cope with the challenges life has bestowed upon him. I think it is because of this that he makes his writing so relatable. His story is different than so many others because he tells every detail and writes in a way that mirrors common thoughts. If Writing My Wrongs does nothing else, it will challenge readers to think twice before judging someone who does harm to themselves or others. It is often not these people that are doing harm, but a person that has formed as a result of the environment or circumstances that has crossed paths with their life. “We weren’t bad people, but we had all done some bad things in response to the bad things we experienced in life. We were fathers, brothers, uncles, drug dealers, robbers and killers. We weren’t all one thing, but a mixture of failure, neglect, promise, and purpose” (pg. 71). After reading this book, people will be thankful for the fortunate opportunities they do have or if they are like Shaka once was, they will see hope and encouragement.

Wow, what a great inspiring book for everyone that has a loved one or is incarcerated. Inmates can and do change in prison. This is what we should want for all inmates in our broken American prison system. People are sent to prison AS their punishment, not FOR punishment. Being incarcerated is their punishment. All inmates should have the chance for change, a chance to be a productive member of society. This book tells how that can be done. Best read all summer.

SB

I enjoyed this book. I appreciated how Senghor discussed the real feelings underneath his anger. Being out of touch with your feelings and calling an emotion something else is sure to cause suicide and/or homicide on some level. He did the work that some of us who have never been to prison need to do if we expect to raise a sense of consciousness to live as free as possible.

And while I so appreciated this story, you can see some comparisons to Nathan McCall's, Make Me Wanna Holler which I STRONGLY recommend and the Autobiography of Malcolm X.

I started and finished Shaka Senghor's 'Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death and Redemption in an American Prison' in a day. It's a harrowing and emotionally-stirring read on love, forgiveness (of others and yourself), spiritual transcendence (while in the darkest places) and personal empowerment. It's also an important spotlight on the broken and inhumane American prison system, and it's inspiring to see Mr. Senghor turn prison reform into his life work with cut50.

I highly recommend.

Shaka shares a journey marked by violence and injustice, twisted with despair and desperate hope. He presents a real look at the inhumane inner workings of the prison system while confronting his own demons that sent him there.

Should you take the time to read his story and lend your heart to really hearing it, I think you'll find yourself moved to action, as I did, to help people rather than writing them off.

Writing My Wrongs is such an important book. And so timely. I suggest reading it slowly---as there is so much that's so great. Not only is the writing poetic/visceral, but the message is so poignant. Senghor learns from his mistakes--and recreates himself to teach others, hopefully before it's too late for them. He shares the depths of his journey: dealing drugs, getting shot, shooting someone, and then living in the hole (confinement) for seven years (and is imprisoned for much longer). Through reading books, writing, and listening to his inner guide, Senghor struggles, but ultimately rises above--like a phoenix that will not be brought down--to leave prison a different man. A man who will surely save and change lives--as he has saved and changed his own. Thank you, Shaka Senghor for writing this book--and for doing what you do!

I loved reading this book. It is deeply personal, soulful, heartbreaking, and compelling. This is a story about Shaka's life and his transformation -- but it is also transformed me. Shaka says, "hurt people hurt people." That and many more gems from the book have stuck with me and inform my day-to-day life.

Although this is sold as a memoir, it is also a call to action. This book recharged my belief in second chances. No human being should be thrown away. This is a must-read for anyone working in the criminal justice system and anyone working to reform it. I also see this as being a powerful tool for kids struggling with anger and drug issues and the parents and teachers who interact with them.

Thought provoking, more insightful on the dealings within the prisons. Thus book will be able to help many identify and hopefully deal with a lot of their struggles, issues, anger, forgiveness, etc., and become an asset to their communities, and not a victim to their environment.

Like how he chose over time to turn the negatives into positives, and is helping many because he's chosen to ACT on what he said he would do.

Great read. My only dislike was the bad language and name calling; however, this is realty.

Dillon Estridge

SOC 161A FA13: IntroSoc: Social Problems/Policy

Professor Karen Gagne

16 December 2013

Shaka Senghor is the author of numerous books and poems, including Writing My Wrongs, which will be the only piece of his many works in which I will offer my opinions and thoughts on in this review. In Writing My Wrongs, Mr. Senghor tells the story of his life from his troubled childhood, to his life in prison, up until the day he was released from prison. Mr. Senghor is not a college-educated writer who uses elaborate literary techniques and ingenious syntax to convey his message; instead he uses real-life experience and authentic emotions as a vehicle to portray his life story to his readers. Writing My Wrongs covers Mr. Senghor’s entire life because it is not just his story of how terrible life in prison is, but how he ended up there and everything that he had to do to get out. Mr. Senghor wasn’t merely released from prison because he served his required sentence. Mr. Senghor was released from prison because he had the courage to admit that he must change his ways and take responsibility for his actions, as well as having the perseverance to work every day to complete all of the rehabilitation programs and parole board requirements that were necessary for his release.
Mr. Senghor entered prison as a young man (nineteen to be exact) who appeared to be just another “thug” that had nothing to offer society, except for being another addition to the negative statistic of incarcerated African American youths. Anyone who perceived Mr. Senghor as such could not have been more wrong. Although Mr. Senghor was guilty of his crimes, he was not a monster; he was simply the product of a broken family, in which he was left with not only an unstable life at home, but also without the guidance of a mentor to develop all of the potential that he possessed. Instead of having the privilege of having a parent or guardian to guide him through his life and show him everything that he had to offer the world and what was right and wrong, like many of us have, Mr. Senghor had to carry this burden himself. I am not insisting that Mr. Senghor’s parents were neglectful parents or that Mr. Senghor was never taught that selling drugs was not the right way to make money, but instead I am claiming that the problems in his parents marriage not only effected their lives negatively but his, as well.
Although Mr. Senghor had always possessed potential to accomplish great achievements in his life, when he first entered prison he was very far from ever reaching said potential. As a young man, just as most young people are, Mr. Senghor was very arrogant and was not ready to take responsibility for his actions and the direction his life was headed. In his mind he was simply trying to stay alive on the streets. Although this may be true, Mr. Senghor’s arrogance and ignorance as a young man proved to be detrimental to the first part of his life. After being in prison for a while and seeing how much it hurt his loved ones, especially his father, Mr. Senghor realized that he needed to get out of prison, and that the first step in doing so was to admitting the wrongs that he had committed and begin going down the road to recovery.
Mr. Senghor’s path to healing can only be partially accredited to his ability to admit his faults. The other portion of his healing process he received from writing. Mr. Senghor’s writing allowed him to release all of his inner emotions and feelings. Not only did his writings allow him to finally release the emotions about his troubled childhood and all the terrible things he had seen in prison, but also he had finally found a way to reflect upon his feelings and begin to learn that writing could act as a vehicle for his rehabilitation. Since he was writing all of his emotions and feelings down soon after they occurred or while he was feeling them, it made all of his writings more authentic, instead of him trying to recall how he felt about the different topics at a later time.
Writing My Wrongs not only helped Mr. Senghor heal himself; it also allows the reader to reflect upon his story and insert the lessons that Mr. Senghor learned into their own lives. These lessons include taking responsibility for your actions and not giving up on life, even when times get tough. Although I have not faced anywhere near the amount of adversity that Mr. Senghor has experienced in his life; I can relate to his story with regards to how a broken family and drugs had a significant impact on his life. For my father passed away when I was very young from a drug overdose, leaving my mother a widow and my brother and I fatherless. Throughout my life I had struggled with how to handle the pain of not having a father, and writing has always been a way for me to express my feelings and confront the pain that I was feeling, just as Mr. Senghor has done. I have also had mixed emotions about my father, and at times have wanted to hate him for using drugs surrendering his life to a white powder in exchange for a temporary high. Writing My Wrongs has shown me that people make mistakes in life, and even though some of the times these people’s mistakes cause great pain to their loved ones; they are not intentional and in most cases they regret what they have done and deserve to be forgiven. Although it may sound rather cliché Mr. Senghor’s story has finally allowed me to come to peace with my father and his death. I firmly believe that any book or novel that can allow its reader to connect to it on a spiritual and emotional level such as I have, is a story that should be read by everyone. Not only would I recommend it to people that have experienced serious pain and loss in their life, but to anyone that has felt as if life was getting too tough too be handled. For Mr. Senghor’s story minimizes the trivial everyday problems that we face in our lives, and shows the reader that no matter what problems you are facing; anything can be overcome when one possess the hope and will to live on.

Shaka Senghor has used is medium of writing to heal himself while simultaneously providing a beacon of hopeful light to those that find themselves in a similar situation as he did. Recently, he has given motivational TED Talks and speeches to inspire those who wish to receive his message, and his novel Writing My Wrongs is his gateway anecdote to this message. Writing My Wrongs covers a crucial point in Senghor’s life, as he transitions from being a crack dealer on the streets of Detroit into a contributing member and society, and ultimately a motivation for people entangled in the US prison system.
Before reading the book, I already was aware of how dangerous the street “thug life” could be, and the drastic effects it can have on a child’s psychological mindset. However, I didn’t realize how exponentially worse these effects could be when combined with family problems. Senghor was a product of a broken household. He is good at heart, but the combination of his family and living conditions led him down the road of misfortune.
The story itself is a metacognitive struggle of Senghor as he brings to words the issues that have plagued him his whole life. Beginning the Detroit streets slinging crack, where he saw only desolation and desperation, and ending with his eventual metacognitive transformation thru his time in prison.
The way that Shaka portrayed the correctional facility I found to be incredibly insightful. I’ve never so much as visited a jail (and don’t plan to), but hearing his description of the treatment and living conditions within the jail itself, I was appalled. The way the inmates are treated by the prison staff, most notably the correctional officers are horrific. My grandfather was a correctional officer, and I never heard about this kind of treatment, likely cause he didn’t want to tell me about it. This book opened me up to a whole new genre of literature that I have yet to explore, and that is prison literature. After reading this book, I further looked into prison literature, and found the Shaka’s book only scratches the surface of what it’s like to be an inmate at one of these facilities.
Shaka’s transformation paralleled that of Red’s in the move The Shawshank Redemption, where an old man eventually took the place of the once rebellious, law-breaking young man. A scene from the movie often comes to my mind when I think about Shaka. I think about when Red walks in to a group of young men sitting around a table all dressed up in suit and ties, in order to decide if Red is he “doesn’t have any idea what that word means”. Red goes on to say that he wants to go back and talk sense into himself as a kid, when he murdered someone to land him in jail, but he cant and he has to “live with that”. I believe Red’s journey very much parallels Shaka’s transformation and wisdom in this way. Shaka realized what he did was wrong, and wants to go back and fix his youth, but he knows he not able to. Instead, he now reaches out to kids that he can touch, and tries to be the figure of wisdom that he and Red both wish they had. He does that thru Writing My Wrongs.
I think it’s also important to note the Shaka’s transformation is actually a victory for the prison system itself. The prison systems goal supposed to be to rehabilitate, and Shaka was a success in this case, but his case is such a rare one, that it is a terrible reflection on our society’s idea of prison. Clearly, there are serious

issues within our prison system that need addressing because apparently the prison system can only take the very best men, Shaka Senghor, and rehabilitate them.
The way Senghor writes the novel is vital in the reader’s comprehension of the struggle he faced. His writing style follows a stream-of-consciousness narrative. The reader is brought into the mind if Senghor and pulled around thru the lens of his life. He makes the reader feel as if they are apart of his struggle by evoking his own emotions within the reader, and examining his own thoughts, as they would come thru his head. He doesn’t leave his emotions up for interpretation, and I believe this is necessary in this type of work.
I had to read this book for my sociology class at St. Lawrence University, and this report is for the same class. I am a Caucasian, middle-class male, but I still am able to feel a connection to this text that I wouldn’t expect to feel. I listened to rap/Hip-Hop music my whole life, and I was awed when Tupac rapped about the ‘Thug Life”. I had friends that sold drugs to stay afloat although we lived in a middle-class neighborhood. In some ways, I saw this connection between broken families leading kids astray. Some of my good friends growing up ended up falling in with the wrong crowds after bad parental separations, and many of these kids ended up in rehabilitation programs or secondary, disciplinary schools. So although I grew up far from the streets of Detroit, I could connect with Senghor’s message because it truly is all-encompassing, and I believe, that is why it is so well-liked by all its readers.
Overall, I found the book to be incredibly insightful, and surprisingly applicable to my own experience. The way the book was written helped make a connection with the reader that I didn’t expect to have, but the real connection laid in the story itself. The way broken families, and less then ideal living conditions can shape how a kid thinks and behaves are incredibly evident in this novel.
I would recommend this novel to anyone, especially one who is going thru family problems, and I think the message is an important one to read for underprivileged youths who are victims of a similar struggle as Shaka Senghor.

Writing my wrongs by Shaka Sanghor is a biography that simultaneously examines the crack culture of Detroit and the inner society of the prison system through the eyes of Shaka and his transformation in those cultures. His chapters alternate between the stories of his childhood and how he got in prison and when he is in prison trying to transform himself into a human being fit for “non-hood” culture.
There are many viewpoints on the failed systems of the hip hop culture. The failed family system is founded by the lack of equal rights and pay for minorities. Since the parents had to either work far too much to support the dynamic of the family or join the drug culture and instant gratification, the children had to either suffer without the presence of their parents or else see them join the thousands of others who had been forced to embrace the violence and paranoia of selling illicit material. This is turn caused the children to grow up in a constant state of trying to gain their parent’s attention which soon turned into heading to the streets to find validation. “I loved the reputation I had earned in the ‘hood…It gave me a false sense of power, and what I felt was control over my life…When I look back, it is really sad to see how insecure I was. I didn’t like or respect myself, and I sought validation from people who were just as insecure and distorted in their thinking as I was. It is this vicious cycle that gave birth to my hyper-violent behavior.” Pg. 12
This also contributed to the misogyny of the hip hop culture. When women started to prostitute themselves for the rocks that have consumed them and many of those in the area. “It was hard to respect someone who didn’t respect themselves. Looking back, I believe the crack epidemic led to the misogyny that exists in our community and in the hip hop culture specifically.” Pg. 58
In the turning point of Shaka’s life, he challenges many of the notions about class struggle and those in prison. He tried to escape, failed, and was sentenced to 17-40 years in prison. Through the struggle, he learned that he really was a sick man at the time, due to the fact he did not even consider the man he killed or how he would take care of his family when he was in prison. I loved the last paragraph of the chapter: “We weren’t bad people, but we had all done some bad things in response to the bad things we experienced in life. We were fathers, brothers, uncles, drug dealers, robbers and killers. We weren’t all one thing, but a mixture of failure, neglect, promise, and purpose.”
The quote I think accurately dispels the stigmas that come along with convicts. Many of them were thrust into their situations due to their upbringing and racial status. However, I still do believe that there are ways to break from those stigmas. I don’t think that it is impossible to make yourself a life without the often created stigma’s due to the education system. However, it is much easier for many to follow those stigmas. The people in the lower class situations were often put there by the racial prejudices when they first moved to the area, then kept there by the low morale and the attraction to the easy outs and norms that were created by the first people, or were escalated into those actions by those in front of them in the form of their parents struggling to care for them with the added economic and social pressure. African Americans were mostly put into the low income housing when they first moved here from their mainly farming communities. By being put into the housing, they were often put up against the gangs that were already put there from previously. They quickly learned how they had to succeed over the previous tenants: they had to work for cheap, often off the books. They had to start early, often dropping out of school. And they had to add under-the-table funds to their meager work, often leading to the sales of drugs. Drugs led to being fired from their original jobs, and more drugs, and eventually the power struggle in the household due to unequal financial contribution. These ideas go against the general ideals of the American lifestyle, where people can move up and down the social scale at will. If you work hard, you should be able to improve your social status, and if you are in poverty, it is your own fault. Shaka looks at the ways in which this idea and many mainstream ideas are wrong.
Shaka explains how easily he became addicted to crack and how he ruined his high-balling career as a crack dealer. As a fourteen year old, he was easily influenced and knew nothing about the substance he was dealing: only the effects of it. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he was told by his mentor that weed reverses the effects of the crack. And although one is a stimulant and the other a depressant, they definitely do not. This shows how malleable we are at young ages, and especially when these children are given the wrong role models to look up to. When he ran away from his parents, he effectively opened the door to any sort of influence that would be prevalent in his life. It could have been anything, however he went the easy route and hung around with some of the worst people he could. His boss tried to up hold his honor and listened to him until someone closer to him offered a new bright and shiny perspective.
Shaka brings up interesting points that connect the family values, crack culture, misogyny, violence, and much of the harmful parts of the hip hop culture. Looking from the outside in, it is easy to judge the people that live the hood lifestyle as ignorant or inherently violent and lazy. However it is not entirely the fault of the individuals. According to Shaka, the cascading system failures all culminated into the lower class neighborhoods and continued to fester until the problems of the governmental and social system became a culture of its own. Writing my Wrongs has given me a new perspective on many of the preconceived notions I had formed throughout my life. I recommend it to anyone who would like an educational and entertaining read.

Shaka Senghor’s book Writing my Wrongs was one of the best books that I read in my sociology class this year. It showed me a new life that I had never really seen before. This made it an interesting read because I was learning about a new way of life, and how he wrote it was very powerful. This book changed my views on the prison system and how they treat their inmates. His book does a good job at addressing issues that are important in the world through his own story. Senghor wants to reach out to youth who are going through what he was and lend them a helping hand out of that life before it is too late. He also reaches out to everyone else and asks them to help by showing what he has done and gives names of organizations that people can be apart of to be in the effort to help. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
It is really interesting to read about a totally different lifestyle than mine.  It is just a whole other world that I sort of know about but he brings it to a whole new light.  The horrifying fact is that this all started when he was just 14!  I could never imagine a life like that at such a young age. When he was just a teenager his life has already been threatened and he was dealing drugs.  This really clashed with my view of a typical teenager because I came from a very different background than his. Where Senghor was from, this is a typical way of life that teenagers would take. His childhood was destroyed and I feel terrible that this tragedy is still happening. Senghor wanted out so bad but that lifestyle is so hard to leave.  What is fascinating is his narrative throughout the book.  It took him so long to realize that he was so low, and when he finally figured out what went wrong he could change.  It is a lifestyle I never thought that I would understand. However he does such a good job explaining it to the audience.  I do like how he spares no detail, it can be scary and jaw dropping but I like how he feels the need to tell the reader that this is how horrible life was.  I do agree that the audience needs to know how bad it was to really appreciate what he left and what a big change he made in his life. This book really clashed with the way of life that I have come to know so well, and I really appreciated that.
Learning about the life in jail is very intriguing and Senghor’s book changed my views on what life in prison is like. I have seen movies but this is so much more real and horrifying because of the extent of his descriptions making you seem like you are there right by his side. I knew that police brutality happened, but not this badly.  I heard stories about the brutality, but I always assumed it was bad, but not as bad as it actually is. So, I do agree and understand why he has such disrespect for the blue uniform even after his transformation.  They have given him a reason with no redeemable actions. The guards and correctional officers are openly racist toward the African American inmates just to push them over the edge so they lash out. So then when they do lash out the guards can brutally beat them. I commend Senghor on rising above this at the end and becoming a stronger person because I do not know if I would have been able to. Reading about his strength towards the end of the book really spoke to me. He was able to overcome everything that was built up inside of him and began to build anew. This really stuck with me because from where he was from it is hard to overcome ones problems, but he did even after being knocked down a few times.
I think that the world should know about the problems faced by kids in impoverished areas. However, it is hard to let everyone know about this problem. Senghor does a great job at informing the public through his own story. His book provides an easy way for the people to read and learn about these important issues. I think that this is very important. When the public knows that there are terrible things like this going on in the world, they will be more motivated to try and fix these problems. By writing this book he is reaching out to the general public and is asking them to jump up and help. He shows that helping out the people of these communities will not be a waste of time because he proved that people can change and better themselves. Senghor also gives names of people and organizations who the public to contact so to be apart of this effort. His book is also reaching out to troubled teens in impoverished areas. He wants those kids to read his book and find it as a source of strength. It serves the younger generation because of his writing style and his age. His writing style is very good, he makes you feel like you are right there feeling the same things that he is. Also he was a teenager when he was put in jail. So, kids can put themselves in his shoes and really understand where he is coming from and compare his life with theirs.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone because it is a different type of read. For me it really contrasted to my life and how I grew up. I really enjoyed reading about it because it was a new type of lifestyle than I was used to. This book also changed my views on life in prison and really showed me how brutal it really is. Finally this book addresses major problems of society which is important because people need to know about it. By writing out his wrongs Senghor was able to defeat the evil within and grow to be a stronger human.

I never thought I would not only enjoy, but be moved to tears and laughter by an autobiographical prison story, but that's exactly what happened. Readers will appreciate the author's raw honesty. I recommend this to anyone who believes in hope, redemption and is not afraid to step into a surreal world so few of us know anything about.

This book is a great read on the power of self-introspection, self-love and the sheer will to survive and honor our connection to humanity. It has great applications for the journey to self forgiveness and self worth, but also for understanding how we view various systems in our society including those that impact urban areas and our prisons. What is most important is that you come to understand the kind of psychology that has the power to destroy individuals and entire groups and why its imperative that we do something about it.

Shaka Senghor's poignant account of his path to prison, and his evolution during his prison experience, provides important evidence of the possibility and necessity of rehabilitation in the approach to criminal justice in the United States today.

His story also magnifies the power of forgiveness. The forgiveness of his victim's god mother feeds Shaka's forgiveness of himself, and propels his development as an instructive example of what a successful human turnaround looks like.

Writing My Wrongs provides useful context in translating an experience that most citizens cannot possibly process in any positive manner. It should give the larger society cause to pause, as it continues to grapple with issues of crime and punishment in America.

The prison literature genre stretches from Marco Polo to Cervantes, from Malcolm X to Kathy Boudin, and now to Shaka Senghor. This book is well worth the read by anyone interested in witnessing the journey of a man who has been to the darkest depths of the human experience and --through writing and speaking-- is fighting his way back to a different future for himself, for young people, and for marginalized communities.

This is a guy who spent half of his young life in prison but in the 3-4 years since his release has become an MIT Fellow, community advocate and activist, and teacher at the University of Michigan. Not your typical trajectory, not your typical person.

I quite enjoyed the way Senghor captures dialogue and dynamics of his life experiences. That said, it's true that some aspects of this book are a little rough around the edges on technical merits. But there are more important metrics.

Senghor is moving through wildly complex, divergent worlds in this lifetime. What you have in this book is a brutally brave, brutally honest rough draft of a soul in migration.

Like others here, I learned about his work by seeing him speak at Collision Works in Detroit. I have met him only twice, but I am deeply grateful to him for his struggle and his eloquence. Through his work, may wrongs be written and righted not only for him but for the many people who meet him and read this book.

I look forward to reading his future books and seeing where the journey takes him.

"Writing My Wrongs" is an amazing story even if it were not true. Mr. Senghor's life was the kind which too many of us simply dismiss completely and write off to the decline of urban America. But what he accomplishes in this book is something extraordinary: he shows that with dedication and perseverance people can rise up and become so much more than anyone, including themselves, could ever have imagined.

This book is raw. The events you will read of and the language you will encounter might be a bit shocking at first. But what you should quickly come to realize is that Senghor must tell it this way because that is how it happened. The book must be written this way in order to give you, the reader, a true and real experience. Anything else would run the risk of leaving you feeling too detached from the story and thus too detached from the author's extremely powerful messages of hope, trust, redemption and humanity.

I loved the title. The rest of the book didn't really keep me involved the way I hoped it would. I'm really grateful that this story ends in redemption. Hope and redemption can change a life.I'll have to read this again and see what I get on a second read.

Writing my Wrong is a book that every teen who is mislead should be required to read. Shaka delves into the past and identifies what made him feel the way he felt and broke it down in lemans terms. I believe a lot of inner city youth experience some of the same feelings and do not understand why. Being able to take a true look at yourself such as Shaka did is always the beginning of healing. It goes to show also that anything you put your mind to it can be accomplished. Loved the book!

Thankful that the Author was so transparent. He took me to a world that I never thought existed. I tasted, smelled, heard, felt and saw his life.

This is a must have for every school and library.

The art of storytelling is strong in this book. While some graphic details may be hard for some to read, every word is written with purpose and intention. I will be using excerpts to teach educators about working with children and teens who are at risk. I am hopeful reading it and believe it can be just as hope producing for anyone reading.

Very insightful read about the culture behind bars and how someone with a reckless past can completely turn themselves around. Senghor's story gives hope on how to reclaim your life after living through a dark period and how true transformation takes time and isn't a perfect process.

This was an amazing, heartfelt book chronically a man's struggles through the prison system. It was remarkably realistic and helped me understand better the atrocities in our prison system. An excellent read!

I absolutely Love this book. You can't get anymore honest then this.There are so many great things I can say about this book. Most importantly is that young men are also affected when the family dynamics change. As parents, we cannot "check out" when we have kids.
Shaka tells the story well. One change and his whole life was altered. That's just how easily a young man can take the wrong path to fill his void, hurt and pain. In this book he talks about a lot of pain that you never would imagine that one person can endure, especially at such a young age.
Shaka is destine to be a great leader and mentor for millions of young Black men. I can't wait for part II of his journey!
L.F.

Not a genuine sentence in the book. Nothing but the author humble bragging. After the 100th episode where he explained himself is the most feared/respected man in all the system, I rolled my eyes so hard I sprained an eyelid. Was looking for so much more from someone who good really be a powerful voice if he dumped the bravado.

Riveting, enlightening, a must read! Shakar was born to be writer. His journey to redemption is purely amazing. This book will open your mind and heart. I know for me i have found compassion for the people behind bars!

This is a powerful story of transformation, growth and forgiveness. This memoir is a must read! Engaging & enlightening from beginning to end, you will find yourself completely entranced in this story. Shaka tells the story of his life with such detail and passion - you will begin to actually "feel" what it could have been like to live that lifestyle, no matter what your background. Despite the horrors that he went through, and sometimes caused, you will find yourself ultimately rooting for Shaka Senghor. I can't wait to read more from this talented & dynamic author.

I have to say that I loved this book. I found the story very compelling and extremely well written. It was a page turner for me, I read it in less than a week!

This story is so real. The author takes the reader on a journey from his young middle class life to selling crack on the streets of Detroit. From there he tells the story of his life spiraling to the point of committing murder and heading to prison. But his story doesn't stop there.

I was so moved by author's transformation while incarcerated and it gave me so much hope for my own life and what I can accomplish if I really put my mind to it. This book is a must read for anyone who wants a raw and real first person account of lessons learned the streets and from solitary.

Thought-provoking & hopeful, this book brings us inside the prison system, with all its faults and travails. Read it because of it being a 2017 selection of "Silicon Valley Reads" (which our bookclub always reads).
Highly recommend!

This book tells a compelling story of a young man from Detroit who transcends his painful and violent youth to become an inspiration to all. Excellent commentary on social ills as well as personal responsibility.

This memoir is engrossing. Very interesting to see one man's perspective of Detroit and treatment of black men by the criminal justice system. I was glued to this book and further convinced that we need more education and support for communities, not more prisons.

What an intriguing, well-written story of misjudgment, consequences, introspection, determination and rehabilitation! I thoroughly enjoyed Shaka Senghor's account of his growth and realization of self-worth.

fantastic read. Shaka has a way of placing you on this very scary, yet sad journey of his life, and in the end you find yourself rooting for him and anyone that has walked his path and lived that life.

If you feel inclined to read about a young murderer who ostensibly has turned his life around, you will probably give this book 5 stars.
If you feel that millions of young people have been raised in equal or even worse life conditions and yet not dealt crack, bullied people, and killed at least one, then you will give it one star--like I did.