An Inspiring Story of Redemption; A Call to a Nation's Conscience
343038
For anyone who clings to clich&eacute;s about our prison system or the 2.3 million Americans behind bars, Amy Wickes-Passmores biographical book, "From Privilege to Prison  Finding Purpose in a Dark Place," written with Kristine Stevens (2014, Resilient Publishing), provides an education on the ad hoc culture that emerges when addicted, mentally handicapped, personality disordered, innocents, criminals, and others are caged in a one-size-fits-all deprived environment.

The book shines light on an inhumane corrections system in which imprisonment is just the beginning of the punishment. Its an eye-opening, compelling read.

Amy Wickes-Passmore references her early difficult years as the source of a simmering vulnerability that precipitated her overuse of prescription drugs and alcohol. She began shoplifting to pay for her addictions and to avoid relying on her husband in a difficult marriage.

From working as a model and enjoying a privileged life, Amy stumbled into the demeaning, debauched God-awful, sick and abusive Franklin County Jail Workhouse in Columbus and then the Ohio prison system.

While Amy admits to a long arrest record relating to her addictions, she was never violent. She was charged with aggravated burglary when a former friend beat her up, then claimed Amy was the aggressor and thief.

Amy eventually pled guilty to this crime she didn't commit for one of many reasons countless others have done so. Incarcerated for four months in a dirty, dangerous facility designed for short stays, Amy took a plea deal to escape the county jail and go to a community-based correctional facility.

Under heavy medication, she made a bad decision and was sentenced to four years in the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Conditions were deplorable, demoralizing, and dangerous. Amy struggled with Crohns disease and belatedly diagnosed bipolar disorder, but nothing was as devastating as having her children delivered by the system into foster care.

Amy was released from prison on January 2, 2011, with new purpose. Shes become an extraordinary advocate for reducing the prison population and developing Stay Out Plans. She is founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization, In the Name of Justice, dedicated to Support and Awareness to Benefit Children and Parents of the Incarcerated.

Amy believes her difficult journey has been Gods plan to bring purpose to her life. With faith matured in a dark place, shes become a force among opinion leaders, a voice for the forgotten.

"From Privilege to Prison" is an inspiring story of redemption and recovery, of prevailing over difficult losses, of finding faith and purpose when all seems lost. The book shines light upon the so-called corrections system in the most incarcerated nation in the world. As such, it is a wake-up call to all Americans who would find the conditions Amy describes as shameful. "From Privilege to Prison" calls upon the nations conscience to reverse destructive policies that are contrary to our foundational beliefs and national character.
30873
A gripping story about abandoned and abused youth, and a chance at redemption through acts of compassion by an unlikely hero
2807416
I give this beautiful novel 5 stars, the highest rating, as it will make your heart soar.  It is the compelling and spellbinding story of one man's journey to find serenity, love and God.  Along the way, he encounters hatred, prejudice, racism and ugliness that will break your heart.  However, our protagonist ultimately finds hope and a spiritual reawakening that is both beautiful and inspiring to read.  This is an important book in these troubling times in which it seems that racism, religious intolerance and hatred towards the "other" are disturbingly on the rise.  As both a sociologist who studies culture and diversity, and as a "student of life," I highly recommend this book to everyone as a tonic for the spirit and soul.
3019037
As I have already stated in the title, this truly is one of the most amazing stories of forgiveness and redemption. The story is very heart-rending. The author's home is bombed, more than once, their family threatened and their lives disrupted by a power hungry person who attended the church the author's father pastored.  If anyone on earth has a "right" to be angry and hold a grudge, it would be this family.  However, through the modeling of the mother and father, living a life of forgiveness, this family chose a better path.  I love the statement from the book, "When you forgive a person who wronged you, you set a prisoner free, and then you discover that the prisoner you set free is you."  This true story is about the real meaning of forgiveness.  This is definitely worth your time to read, especially if you have ever been hurt or struggle to forgive someone else.
1232850
Ninety-five-year-old Billy Graham has never stopped telling and retelling the Gospel story over the past 70 years. Now, more than ever, Graham senses the urgency of reaching people with the message of Jesus Christ. With no apologies offered, he shares the story of salvation in his newest book, THE REASON FOR MY HOPE: SALVATION, with plainspoken eloquence. Readers/listeners/churchgoers who are acquainted with Grahams honest and straightforward communication style will feel right at home settling down to a good long read with this heartening text.

Graham opens his book with an essay on the power of hope. He likens hope to the first ray of sunshine, the moon that rises in the dark night, the newborn cry of a baby once bound and now free. But most of all, hope finds its greatest expression in the absolute assurance that there is life after death. He writes that hope pierces the darkness; brings comfort to our aching souls; perseveres, persuades and prevails.

On this hopeful note, Graham then proceeds to tell folks that hope isn't just a feeling people crave. We have been given hope so that, in place of being rescued from eternal damnation, we now have a responsibility to do something with our lives. Sharing historical and modern-day stories when folks have been saved out of mortal danger, Graham exhorts individuals to place themselves in the position of needing to be saved as did these men and women throughout history. Then, once saved, go out into the world with a renewed spirit of life and start making a difference.

Next, Graham discusses the principle of redemption from a variety of perspectives. From redeeming unused gift cards, to talents and abilities, and finally to spiritual redemption, the evangelist lays out what the Bible has to say about the need for redemption. Then he asks readers to contemplate their own story of redemption if they haven't already done so.

Other subjects Graham spends ample space defining and discussing include: the popularity of sin, the price of spiritual victory, where is Jesus now and then, defining Christianity in a designer world, no hope of happy hour in Hell, and Jesus is indeed coming back. Each chapter offers numerous compelling true stories that give credence to Grahams persuasive words for the need of a Savior and bountiful proof offering scriptural evidence of the same. Graham also includes heartwarming personal stories from his own long life and how, at various life junctures, his own faith was challenged and stretched. His treatment of every aspect of the faith journey is transparently hard-hitting, and he doesnt back away from the difficult questions about God.

Billy Graham is the beloved worldwide evangelical of our time, and as such, his heart as displayed through this text is all the more precious. Christians and non-Christians alike will find encouragement and help throughout this message of hope.

Reviewed by Michele Howe
504671
Compelling reading of a mother who broke her heart to send her children to a hopefully better life, and a broken hearted mother who opened her arms and heart to let them in.  But it's also a book about self-esteem and psychological damage and the tenacious hold we have on our life and our fate. It harshly describes the story of many people living an impoverished life of hopelessness and despair.  Life keeps taking another bite from their self-worth, as they try to get another bite to subsist upon. Ms. Lampos declares that some children are like quilts. Scrappy pieces of their life broken and torn are pieced together to design the life of the potential that lies within each of us. Although coming up from hard beginnings and a rough life and the prejudices of society as to class, race and cultures, the kindness, and compassion of people met along the way blend those pieces into each personal pattern. We need each other, and all the diverse people we meet on our personal journeys. Although a gripping book of brutul reality, more importantly it is a story of love and hope and the pattern of God's infinite design.  G.Sprissler,PhD,CMT
2615219
Grace from the Fall is an earnest and well-written story that skillfully weaves together themes of rebellion, religion, and ultimately redemption.  Perhaps the most shocking aspect of this book is the author's firsthand description of prison life, which should open eyes as to what we as a society really believe we are accomplishing through mass-incarceration of the poor and minorities.  Ultimately, however, Grace from the Fall demonstrates that with the support of family, friends, and faith, anyone of us can aright our lives, no matter how far we've fallen.  Absolutely a worthy read.
3799081
Witnesses of the Unseen is one of the most important books to come out this year. Never before in our country has there been such a need to listen and understand the stories of others, especially the stories that have gone so long "unseen." From the past election, we have seen the danger of not listening to the stories of others, and the anger, hate and ridicule that fills the place of understanding and compassion as a result. The need for critical examination of and reflection on the justice delivered by our government remains as necessary as ever.

Engaging with the stories of Lakhdar and Mustafa is a thought-provoking, frustrating, and inspiring experience. Their words have been masterfully translated and edited to provide the sense of clarity, sincerity, and urgency that their stories deserve. This book is not only one that you will not be able to put down, but it is also one that will remain in your mind and in your conscious long after finishing the final page. Witnesses of the Unseen is a veritable tour de force, and a a must read for 2017 and beyond.
4510436
Unbridled Grace is without a doubt one of the most powerful stories of faith and redemption I've ever read. To know what the Normans went through, to witness Dr. Norman's reaching out to a God he barely remembered, and to watch as he places his entire life and his family's future in God's hands, is so inspiring. I'm in awe. I've been a Christian my entire life and I still struggle with handing over control of my life to God.

Each chapter ends with a meditation that will inspire and move you forward on your journey with Christ. This would be an excellent book to keep by your bedside, so you can be challenged on a regular basis to make a choice for God.

I highly recommend Unbridled Grace by Dr. Michael J. Norman. Even though I know how the story ends, I'm ready to read it all again.
4170740
The simplest description of Kurt Hill's book is that it is the story of a man, called on to be an instument of healing for another person, who finds that in helping heal another, he himself is healed from deep-seated wounds.  Hill writes with unflinching openness and courage of his longstanding pain stemming from a savage attack inflicted on him by someone who should have nurtured him, and from a catastrophe unwittingly caused by his attempt to help a dear friend.  Readers will see how his decades-long dedication to helping others has stemmed in part from the profound effects of these traumas, but his story is about much more than his own journey. Hill describes the power of the universe and of God in bringing restoration and reveals the ability of the human spirit to triumph over destructive events. Ultimately, this is a book about hope and how hope, rather than despair, can prevail and true holistic healing can be achieved.
822246
I have read this book countless times since its release and have given it to others who also loved it.  It is an inspiring account of two priests who find sobriety through membership in Alcoholics Anonymous.  The priests are fictionalized versions of real men.  Guest House, where they began their recovery, is a very real, very worthwhile place.  I am not an alcoholic.  What I find inspirational about this novel is its message that it is never too late.  No matter how much we may have messed up in the past, we can still have a life that is both useful and fulfilling.  Even our mistakes and shortcomings can become gifts we offer to others.  I would especially recommend this book to Christians as an example of how God's redemption works in and through us.
3381821
Once beginning to read this book, I could not put it down.  The author shares his deep pain and rejection at multiple times in his young life in a powerful and poignant manner, yet within the context of ultimate resolution to fulfillment and joy in his life throught the power of forgiveness.  He paints a picture as though in living color of the difficulty in arriving at that position, but the power of the process of doing so to release one from the bondage of woundedness.  This is one of the most compelling and inspiring books I have been privileged to read.  I intend to order copies to be able to give to hurting individuals who have suffered the pain of rejection.  A blessing to anyone who can appreciate a Godly perspective on life.

A pediatrician in private practice
2745966
The tragic irony of the story is how a woman of deep faith was betrayed by other Christians, sending her spiraling into the depths of depression -- a lost soul crossing an ocean and desperately needing a way to end her own free-fall into oblivion. She renewed herself in China, a restless dragon with its destructive past, suddenly reawakening to a more hopeful future. Susan captures the essence of China with descriptive verve of the land, the city, the culture, and the people. Absorbing, compelling, and deeply moving, Susan's story brings tears of compassion as well as of joy as she navigates a labyrinth of feelings and emotions to finally discover the redemptive powers of healing and of renewed faith.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Scandalon-Running-From-Shame-and-Finding-God-s-Scandalous-Love/dp/0981892906/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Scandalon: Running From Shame and Finding God's Scandalous Love</a>
2681436
This is a story that everyone needs to read, not just because it is full of intrigue and legal drama, but because of the real story of forgiveness and redemption. No one is ineligible, even from the depths that your life may have gone too. For those not in so deep, the truth is still important, that no one is beyond God's love. Even when we struggle to forgive, or to have hope that someone's life can be changed, God knows them and loves them. That was the reminder that I needed today.
2581652
This is an honest, inspirational story of a man overcoming one of the toughest challenges that modern Americans can face:  being born into extreme poverty.  Douglas Wallace talks at length about what it was like growing up in what he terms "generational poverty," and how he managed to find his way out through hard work, determination, and, ultimately, faith.  It's a story that can put your current problems into perspective, but more than that, it's a testament to the power of character and belief.  Like "Slumdog Millionaire," it's an honest, sometimes brutal look at adversity, but its crowning achievement is the message of hope that it offers.  I couldn't put it down.
4593965
Karen Hope's powerful memoir reveals the strength of the human spiritit is one of childhood endurance and adult determination. Her storytelling is not self-indulgent; I feel her perspective is objective and generous to those who negatively influenced her life through emotional, physical, and spiritual abuse. "Lost little girls" such as she could be in my neighborhood or yours, and the very thought disturbs me. It is a story that has raised my consciousness of those who neglect their responsibilities and abuse their powerwhether sadly, it be a parent, or one who alarmingly misuses their authority in their role in a church or church school. I'm confident that Karen's courageous decision to tell her story will offer direction and strike a chord of hope in readers who have had a similar life experience, which is likely more people than we can imagine. As a Christian, I encourage all Christians to read this book to raise awareness.  .
1078730
A well done, inspiring film. If everyone who sees this movie gives one copy to a friend or loved one, perhaps we can take back this nation.