Part personal memoir and part narrative of a groundbreaking prison literacy program, this book will probably be compared to Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking. While in marital counseling, Roberts, a dentist and stunt flyer, realized he wanted to make dramatic changes in his life. He returned to school to pursue a doctorate in psychology and became interested in the work of self-help gurus including M. Scott Peck. He then helped start a project at Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, La., with 50 prisoners, where he befriended one of the prisoners, who helped him run the program. Roberts writes of being genuinely moved as the prisoners discuss their experiences. The rest of the book outlines Roberts's overwhelmingly positive experiences at the prison until the warden starts sabotaging his efforts. Ultimately, Roberts's life is dramatically transformed by his prison work, and he ends up starting Project Return, a community-based program. Roberts's emotional attachment to his work is evident in his strong, evocative writing. The narrative isn't without flaws: the introspection about middle-age crisis feels tired, for instance. Yet this worthwhile, important book offers a bright, optimistic window onto the often horrific conditions that still exist in prisons today. (Feb.)
Forecast:Support from Richard Gere, Tim Robbins, M. Scott Peck, Robert Bly and others should help the book garner media attention. If the book is optioned for the movies, the sales potential will also increase significantly.
