In 1980, Ken Hartman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a murder he committed as a violent, drug-addicted 19-year-old. Over the next 28 years, he transformed himself from a brutal inmate to a student of philosophy, a reader of the great books, a practising Buddhist, a prison activist and a father. Hartman later founded The Honor Yard, a programme enabling motivated prisoners to escape their brutal environment. A talented and knowledgeable writer, Hartman has produced a book that is unique in the annals of prison literature.