FAMILIES SHARING HOPE
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Books that might help:

Points to Ponder::   Take what  works, helps, might help, speaks to your heart and ignore the rest if it distracts you from the words that help.  Do not treat any of this as worthy of your blind adoption, because even when the words speak truth the reader may be trying to misapply it or may simply not understand what is meant.  Do not use what you read or hear EVER to beat someone else over the head with your new insight.  Do look for an idea each day worthy of pondering and examine it in the light of your current circumstances to see if something might help you.
CHECK with the local library since many of these will be there or your librarian may be able to order from another system.  After you have read the book, if you love it, consider buying two copies, one for yourself and one for your library, church library or a friend.


HOPE FOR THE BROKN HEARTED

The Book of Forgiving By Bishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu
     So many truly horrible things happened in South Africa in the decades of Apartheid!. But so many horrible things also happen in our homes and one our streets, in our lives wound us and that we carry around trying to protect ourselves from future hurts. But that truly does not work; instead it becomes a weight in our lives, something taking up space where joy then cannot reside fully. Nelson Mandella enlisted Desmond Tutu to help South Africa heal in the post-Apartheid era in ways that amazed a world that fully expected a blood bath of retaliation. Instead a laboratory of forgiveness has proven its worth for a road map for recovery from pain and fear.

​Face to Face: Our Story of Crime, Repentance, and Forgiveness By Misty Wallace, Keith Blackburn with Kirk Blackard
     Misty Wallace and Keith Blackburn traveled from victim and perpetrator of a horrendous, life altering crime fueled by drugs and selfishness to become eloquent and powerful voices for the power of forgiveness.

Unashamed: Drop the Baggage, Pick up Your Freedom, Fulfill Your Destiny by Christine Caine
     Her work with victims of international trafficking and in heading an international women's leadership organization are built on a foundation of healed shame and willingness to continue confronting it in her own live when it creeps back. Men and women are victims of inappropriate shame and of being shamed; she speaks with authenticity and hope and authority about overcoming overt and subtle shaming in ways all women have experienced or witnessed.


Boundaries: When to Say YES and When to say NO to Take Control of Your Life by Dr. H. Cloud & Dr. J Townsend
       A guidebook to new ways of interacting that are more authentically loving and hold a hope for better relationships.

Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children  by Allison Bottke
       Tender wisdom hard won through her journey with her son on his fall into the criminal justice system.

When I Lay My Isaac Down  by Carol Kent
        Carol shares something of her journey when her only son, her high-functioning, successful son succumbs to the temptation to fix a serious problem by his own power resulting in murder.

 Waiting Together: Hope and Healing for Families of Prisoners by Carol Kent
         Carol opens a window on their journey more than a decade into their son's life sentence with Jason speaking of his own
journey through letters home.

The Wall:  A Parable  Gloria Jay Evans, Author and Illustrator
       A gentle journey for anyone hoping to heal.

Prison to Praise   Merlin Carothers
       Chaplin Carothers shares his experiences in finding his way to Christ on a journey that included jail.

Tear Soup: a Recipe for Healing After Loss  Authors Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen, Illustrated by Taylor Bills
        An illustrated acknowledgement of and tribute to the pain of loss

​INFORMATION ON THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

All Lone in the World by Nell Bernstein
         Journalist Nell Bernstein shares her research on the state of the criminal justice system as it affects the children and grandmothers and the government foster systems.

Just Mercy: A storyh of Justice and Redemption Brian Stevenson
     The author shares his journey with Walter McMillian, to appeal his murder conviction and carries us through our broken justice system.

Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice That Restores by Dominique DuBois Gilliard
     Explores the history and foundation of mass incarceration, examining Christianity's role in its evolution and expansion. He assesses our nation's ethic of meritocratic justice in light of Scripture and exposes the theologies that embolden mass incarceration.  

Decarcerating America: From Mass Punishment to Public Health by Ernest Drucker
     A heart crushing review of the problems along the legal spectrum and well-documented changes that have already proven effective in making communities safer for everyone from victims to law enforcement to prosecutors to foster children to families who long to welcome home family members who are ready to take their place as productive members of their communities.

​Inside the Death Fences: Memoir of a Whistleblower  by Caroline Giammanco
    Former teacher in a Missouri Prison until she decided she could not ignore the deeply embedded unethical behavior of administrative staff.
​
American Prison by Shane Bauer
    A journalist returns from prison in Iran but could not resist learning more about American Prisons. Not for the faint at heart!





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