{"id":3684,"date":"2017-03-18T11:49:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-18T15:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/?p=3684"},"modified":"2017-03-18T11:49:27","modified_gmt":"2017-03-18T15:49:27","slug":"writing-my-wrongs-by-shaka-senghor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/?p=3684","title":{"rendered":"Writing My Wrongs by Shaka Senghor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Paperback: 288 pages
\nPublisher: Convergent Books
\nPrice: $14.00
\nPurchase: Amazon<\/a> | BN<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Description<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shaka Senghor was raised in a middle class neighborhood on Detroit\u2019s east side during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic. An honor roll student and a natural leader, he dreamed of becoming a doctor\u2014but 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.
\nWriting My Wrongs<\/i> is the story of what came next. During his nineteen-year incarceration, seven of which were spent in solitary confinement, Senghor discovered literature, meditation, self-examination, and the kindness of others\u2014tools 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 thirty-eight, Senghor became an activist and 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.<\/p>\n

In equal turns, Writing My Wrongs<\/i> is a page-turning portrait of life in the shadow of poverty, violence, and fear; an unforgettable story of redemption, reminding us that our worst deeds don\u2019t define us; and a compelling witness to our country\u2019s need for rethinking its approach to crime, prison, and the men and women sent there.<\/p>\n

~ \u00a0~ \u00a0~ \u00a0~ \u00a0~<\/p>\n

Vlog Review:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/ER3t-xnHgE4<\/a><\/p>\n

~ \u00a0~ \u00a0~ \u00a0~ \u00a0~<\/p>\n

Review<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writing My Wrongs<\/em> is about the power of hope, change, and redemption. It\u00a0sheds light on the reality and truth of mass incarceration.<\/p>\n

I have read many books about prison, but\u00a0never\u00a0as poignant, gritty, and honest as this one.\u00a0This memoir\u00a0provoked me in ways I had not expected.<\/p>\n

Shaka Senghor is an inspiration and a\u00a0great writer. He was born with a gift which he was able to develop during his time in\u00a0solitary confinement. It was through reading and writing that he was able to heal and find himself.<\/p>\n

His story taught me that people deserve a second chance, and should not be limited or defined by their past.<\/p>\n

Writing My Wrongs <\/em>is an important and powerful book, which\u00a0touched,\u00a0inspired and\u00a0encouraged me. I\u00a0hope it gets into the hands of the youth in public schools, detention centers, and prisons across America. I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, I want to thank Convergent for sending me this complimentary book in exchange for an honest review.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Locked up for nearly nineteen years, Shaka Senghor<\/a> has used his incarceration as a vehicle for change. Through years of study and self-reflection, he has transformed himself from an uncaring \u201cthug\u201d into a principled, progressive man who refuses to allow his circumstances to define who he is or what he\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n

Once a very angry, bitter young man, it was books that saved him from self-destructing and allowed him to see beyond the barbed-wire fences that held him captive. In an environment where hopelessness and despair grow like weeds, writing became his refuge. Eventually, he began writing creatively, tapping into the growing interest in street\/hip hop literature. The author of six books and countless articles and short stories, he is inspired by revolutionary prison writers like George Jackson, Malcolm X and Donald Goines.<\/p>\n

Whether writing street lit or poetry, Shaka speaks the truth about the oppressive conditions of the ‘hood and the not-so-glamorous side of the streets. He writes in a way that compels his readers to see the hope and humanity of a discarded generation shaped by the crack epidemic, the fall of the auto industry and the rise of the prison industrial complex. He is soon to be released and is eager to begin working with youth through gun and violence prevention programs in his hometown of Detroit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Convergent Books Price: $14.00 Purchase: Amazon | BN                 Description Shaka Senghor was raised in a middle class neighborhood on Detroit\u2019s east side during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic. An honor roll student and a natural leader, he dreamed of becoming a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[16,90],"tags":[452,1409,1410,37,1413,809,1401,1139,1406,584,1412,1411,1068,1404,201,1407,97,1415,1408,812,32,174,1414,1416,1402,41,742,544,353,1403,918,1400,1405,1417,1399,345],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3684"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3684"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3692,"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3684\/revisions\/3692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ordinaryservant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}