Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison is a memoir by convicted murderer and university lecturer Shaka Senghor. Senghor chronicles his life from his early teens to the aftermath of his two-decades-long prison sentence, speaking about how he fell into criminality, adjusted to the harsh realities of prison, dealt with his overwhelming remorse, and moved on to lead a bright and functional life. In fact, Senghor eventually became a well-known African-American community leader, speaking publicly to at-risk youth so that they might lead healthier lives. The book received positive criticism for its vivid recounting of Senghor’s internal life as he condemned himself to prison, then rose out of it. Senghor begins his memoir around age fourteen when he first leaves home. His mother is embroiled in frequent abusive relationships involving alcohol and drugs. With no income or close family to lean on, Senghor takes to the streets of Detroit to survive. Soon, a drug dealer snaps him up, offering to pay him to sell his goods. The following months, he works long hours selling and distributing on the city’s drug market. Due to his knack for moving goods, he is able to pay for food and shelter; even, eventually, luxuries such as designer clothes. At the same time, it forces him to observe the violence and injustice of the drug trade. He is threatened many times, eventually, becoming numb to the horrors around him. After trying a few times to leave the drug trade to return to normalcy, he resigns to it. One day, a colleague shoots Senghor over a petty disagreement. He survives, but is emotionally scarred and thrown into paranoia. He stops leaving his home without a gun, perceiving himself as a constant target. At nineteen, five years after his initiation into the drug trade, he shoots someone, killing him. Senghor is sent to prison for a term of between seventeen to forty years. He says goodbye to Brenda, his girlfriend, and the baby she is carrying, his son. He finds prison to be very similar to life on the rough side of Detroit: similar competition, similar levels of violence used to “win.” Senghor becomes so emotionally callous, he can barely think straight. He retreats further into the cycle of violence and self-abuse. Senghor’s salvation, though he barely recognizes it at first, comes with the discovery that he loves to read and write. He researches the history of Black activism, becoming inspired by its legacy, which he had failed to observe. These stories fill him with dignity he never had before. He joins the Melanic Brotherhood, a Black Muslim association, and nurtures his spiritual self. He also discovers an extensive network of mentors who look after each other. Senghor’s progress is slow and arduous and includes a several-year stint in solitary confinement. After a total breakdown, he picks up the pieces, reassembling himself with more intention and self-acceptance than before. In solitary confinement, he sets up a regimented educational life for himself, making the most of his time and space. One year after restarting his life, Senghor receives a letter from his son, asking why he committed murder and deprived him of a father. Senghor uses the letter as motivation to right his wrongs. Though he has much of his sentence left, it goes by more quickly. He publishes some of his work written during his incarceration. He meets and falls in love with Ebony, who runs a nonprofit which connects inmates socially to people outside the prison walls. Together, they build and run a successful publishing company. Senghor is released from prison in 2010. Now knowing what motivates him, he keeps working as a mentor and begins public speaking. His goal is to help as many teenagers as possible to find positive outlets for the frustration, rage, and other negative emotions they experience in difficult homes. Part of his message is that the institutionalization of criminality is cyclical and immoral: even he struggles to secure a real “job” due to his criminal record. He starts to win awards and grants from foundations that fight poverty, criminality, and institutionalized racism. He and Ebony have a baby named Sekou. Senghor is excited to raise a child with his full attention and love. The memoir ends recounting Senghor’s meeting with the MIT Media Lab. He hopes to help create new ways to think about and reduce crime and poverty in Detroit. Writing My Wrongs chronicles this transformation of self, referring doubly to the power of writing, which saved Senghor from a darker fate.

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Shaka Senghor

Adult

Autobiography / Memoir

Nonfiction

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