With all that we know of the suffering and injustice of incarceration, how unexpected it is to discover that Prison from the Inside Out is a book about love. Through Mecca’s extraordinary gift for human connection and Simone’s commitment to holding that gift at the center of his stories, we learn about the sustaining and redemptive power of family, profound friendship, tough but caring mentorship, and small acts of human kindness. Somehow Mecca manages to steer clear of trouble and to get close to people, whether he is hanging in the yard, working in the clothes house, or slaughtering hogs on work release. He shows us that you can find and provide compassion even in the harshness of prison.
How appropriate that this book is an imprint of HKF.
– Lucy Suchman – Professor of Anthropology, Lancaster University