Why am I passionate about this?

I have a passion for people who do whatever it takes to improve themselves and their circumstances under the worst of conditions. I grew up very poor in north Texas country towns and knew I’d be a successful writer while in the second grade, only hardly anyone encouraged me. The most inspiring movie I saw growing up was To Kill A Mockingbird and it got me orientated toward helping people find justice. I was only in jail once, overnight on a driving while intoxicated charge, and that was enough. I saw the error of my ways, and I appreciate other writers who not only do the same but inspire others to improve no matter what.


I support

Interrogating Justice

Interrogating Justice and How to Justice are two parts of the same organization. How to Justice aims to make the justice system easier to understand through its Justice System User Manual and easier to use through its Resources Directory. Interrogating Justice aims to help more Americans understand how the justice system is falling short through legal analyses and investigative reporting by attorneys, advocates and allies.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of 633 Days Inside: Lessons On Life and Leadership

Skip Press Why did I love this book?

I recommend this book because Greg Lindberg was a billionaire when he went to prison in 2020. Instead of fighting his fate, he determined to do the best job possible, whatever he was given, and was ready to serve his full seven years. 

Lindberg published another book before going into prison called Fail Early, Fail Often. He used the principles in the book to (at the prison’s request) teach inmates how to do things differently in life and make a success after prison. The last pages of his book are letters of recommendation from fellow inmates, and his company has a policy of hiring ex-cons. He is doing everything he can to reform the American justice system, and his book is free to prisoners and to their loved ones. 

By Greg Lindberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 633 Days Inside as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In March of 2020, Greg Lindberg was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 87 months in Federal Prison. He appealed on the ground that the district court violated his constitutional right to due process and a fair trial by taking away from the jury the most critical issue in the case. In June of 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously agreed and vacated his convictions on both counts.

This book tells Greg's story while in prison: what he learned and how he turned the adversity of prison into an even greater advantage. This book will…


Book cover of Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

Skip Press Why did I love this book?

Most people don’t realize that modern federal criminal laws are often so broad and vague that prosecutors can find a way to convict just about anyone if given enough time. Once indicted, all too often, both defense attorneys and prosecutors will look for a plea deal in doing their jobs. The situation has worsened in recent decades, and most indictees simply don’t have the financial wherewithal to fight the accusation. Silvergate explains how much the integrity of our constitutional democracy hangs in the balance and makes very convincing arguments about how things must change. 

By Harvey A. Silverglate,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Three Felonies A Day as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the…


Book cover of The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose

Skip Press Why did I love this book?

Author Wes Moore wrote the Foreword to this book he called “a philosophy that we should all take to heart” and suggested we “honor the redemptive possibilities inherent in every person.” This was reminiscent to me of Greg Lindberg’s interaction with convicted cocaine dealer Willie Colon who, like Chris Wilson, grew in in a very rough neighborhood. 

Wilson’s crime was even more serious, as he killed a man at age 17. His plea of self-defense didn’t work; he was sentenced to life in prison. Not giving up, he came up with a list of things he wanted to do – his Master Plan – and 16 years later, he was triumphant. It’s a memoir that can inspire anyone to accomplish greater things.

By Chris Wilson, Bret Witter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Master Plan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The Master Plan is less of a road map and more of a philosophy that we should all take to heart: We are all better than our worst decision, our sense of justice should honor the redemptive possibilities inherent in every person, and our destinies are truly intertwined."--Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore

Growing up in Washington, DC, Chris Wilson was surrounded by violence and despair. He watched his family and neighborhood shattered by trauma, and he lost his faith. One night when he was seventeen, defending himself, he killed a man. He was sentenced to life in…


Book cover of To Kill a Mockingbird

Skip Press Why did I love this book?

I have a framed handwritten letter sent to me by Harper Lee after I wrote her expressing my love of her novel. The movie was the only film I remember my entire family seeing together in a theater. This American literature classic won the Pulitzer Prize. While dealing with rape, racial inequality, and mental illness, it still is filled with warmth, humor, and love of family. 

It was for a time the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and at one time, was required reading in secondary schools, which resulted in sales of around a million copies a year. The tragedy of how Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a young white woman, dies believing he cannot find justice, was one of the seminal reasons for the change in civil rights in the USA in the 1960s. 

By Harper Lee,

Why should I read it?

39 authors picked To Kill a Mockingbird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

Atticus Finch gives this advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this classic novel - a black man charged with attacking a white girl. Through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Lee explores the issues of race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s with compassion and humour. She also creates one of the great heroes of literature in their father, whose lone struggle for justice pricks the conscience of a town steeped…


Book cover of Amnesia

Skip Press Why did I love this book?

This is a horror novel about waking up in a hospital with no memory of who you are. What makes it unique is that Ingman started writing as a prisoner. “With nothing but pen, paper, and my own mind and memory of inspiration from my favorite books by Stephen King to my favorite episodes of Twilight Zone,” he says. His incarceration “spanned over 3 prisons and over the course of 5 years 1 month and 5 days,” he says on his Amazon page. I admire his determination and ambition. 

By Tom Ingman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Amnesia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The scariest thing about waking up in a place you've never been is, not that fact that it's a hospital. It's that you can't recognize that it's a hospital, even worse you don't know who you are. It can by far, fill your body with complete unadulterated terror and fill your mind with ludicrous ideas that can be so outrageous that you could lose your mind before you even find it...


Explore my project 😀

I support

Interrogating Justice

Interrogating Justice and How to Justice are two parts of the same organization. How to Justice aims to make the justice system easier to understand through its Justice System User Manual and easier to use through its Resources Directory. Interrogating Justice aims to help more Americans understand how the justice system is falling short through legal analyses and investigative reporting by attorneys, advocates and allies.

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The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

Book cover of The Open Road

M.M. Holaday Author Of The Open Road

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up a fan of an evening news segment called “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.” Kuralt spotlighted upbeat, affirmative, sometimes nostalgic stories of people and places he discovered as he traveled across the American landscape. The charming stories he told were only part of the appeal; the freedom and adventure of being on the open road ignited a spark that continues to smolder. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are our annual family road trips, and I still jump at the chance to drive across the country.

M.M.'s book list on following the open road to discover America

What is my book about?

Head West in 1865 with two life-long friends looking for adventure and who want to see the wilderness before it disappears. One is a wanderer; the other seeks a home he lost. The people they meet on their journey reflect the diverse events of this time period–settlers, adventure seekers, scientific expeditions, and Indigenous peoples–all of whom shape their lives in significant ways.

This is a story of friendship that casts a different look on a time period which often focuses only on wagon trains or gunslingers.

The Open Road

By M.M. Holaday,

What is this book about?

After four years of adventure in the frontier, Win Avery returns to his hometown on the edge of the prairie and tracks down his childhood friend, Jeb Dawson. Jeb has just lost his parents, and, in his efforts to console him, Win convinces his friend to travel west with him―to see the frontier before it is settled, while it is still unspoiled wilderness.

They embark on a free-spirited adventure, but their journey sidetracks when they befriend Meg Jameson, an accomplished horsewoman, lost on the Nebraska prairie. Traveling together through the Rocky Mountain foothills, they run into Gray Wolf, an Arapaho…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in amnesia, life satisfaction, and friendships?

Amnesia 56 books
Life Satisfaction 223 books
Friendships 1,459 books