Being thrown into prison (or jail) is a soul-crushing life experience, and any prisoner has one of the two following choices pertaining to how they handle the experience--they can become bitter, or they can become better.

The natural choice is to become bitter--many times, very, very bitter. Mr. Decker provides the reader his experience and understanding as to the basis of either choice. This is framed as either a fear-based or a love-based choice. This frame applies to both prisoner and nonprisoners alike, including why we incarcerate people in the first place. Using his prison...