The twelve stories in Teach the Free Man mark the impressive debut of Peter Nathaniel Malae. The subject of incarceration thematically links the stories, yet their range extends beyond the prison s barbed wire and iron bars. Avoiding sensationalism, Malae exposes the heart and soul in those dark, seemingly inaccessible corridors of the human experience.
The stories, often raw and startlingly honest, are distinguished by the colloquial voices of California s prison inmates, who, despite their physical and cultural isolation, confront dilemmas with which we can all identify: the choice to...

The twelve stories in "Teach the Free Man" mark the impressive debut of Peter Nathaniel Malae. The subject of incarceration thematically links the stories, yet their range extends beyond the prison’ s barbed wire and iron bars. Avoiding sensationalism, Malae exposes the heart and soul in those dark, seemingly inaccessible corridors of the human experience.
The stories, often raw and startlingly honest, are distinguished by the colloquial voices of California’ s prison inmates, who, despite their physical and cultural isolation, confront dilemmas with which we can all...

Three lives in ruin intersect in the small Oregon town of Amity: Pika, a half-Samoan ex-con from California; Michael, a five-tour Iraq War Marine; and Sissy, a recent Catholic convert, must determine once and for all what love is. These three lives cannot escape the desperation of the past, combusting amidst poverty and drug use, post-traumatic stress disorder and recidivism.