A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison

One of the best books I have ever read. Real story about a young black man going to prison for his entire adolescence based on essentially one mistaken moment. He ends up bettering himself and completely turning his life around and ends up attending Yale Law School. I actually was able to meet him and hear him speak about his experience when I completed the Yale Teachers Fellowship a few years ago, which was when I first read his book. It really is incredibly inspirational and could be very good for youth in inner cities.

More an informal collection of recollections than memoir, this work reads something like a selection of blog entries related to reading and prison, only the very beginning and the very ending standing out as clearly ordered. As such, this comes across as too half-hazard an attempt at broaching questions related to youth in prison and the justice system, falling far short of the clear subtitle for the work: "A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison".

The biggest problem I had in reading this, however, wasn't one of organization. It was the question of coming of age. More often than not, the book fails to make prison-life sound like anything more than an extended solitary stay in a library or retreat for reading, show more violence and injustice (or justice) on the outskirts. Beyond acknowledging that his views are wider because of what he's read, which he may have read in or out of prison, Betts also doesn't seem to (or claim to) mature as a result of his sentence. Reading this work, it's easy to forget that he's guilty of a crime, and while I don't begin to think that the nine years he served were actually deserved (at that length) for the crime he committed, any attentive reader has to at some point wonder: In all those nine years, shouldn't you be able to say why you committed the crime? After those nine years, shouldn't the resulting memoir speak to its supposed subjects of survival, maturity, and justice, moreso than the constant theme of trying to find ways to pass the time?

It's possible that a clearer or more linearly organized narrative could have done Betts' story more justice. As the book stood, though, I didn't feel like the focus of the novel had any weight whatsoever beyond the close focus on Betts' personal experience. Certainly, there was little questioning or discussion of justice or maturation, beyond, again, passing time.

On the whole, this was a disappointing read, and though well-written, probably not something I'd expect anyone to learn something from, or even find truly thought-provoking. Based on the writing and the experiences behind the work, I have to think that Betts would have been better served writing a novel.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this one. show less

Compelling case for juvenile justice reform. See Dwayne Betts website for updated information and other books he has written. --Mary Doran http://www.dwaynebetts.com/

I read this book in my capacity as the co-chair of the university's Common Experience committee. Given that our theme for the next academic year focuses on social issues and social justice, I think this book would be a good selection for our common reading.

"Dwayne Betts was incarcerated for 9 years in an unforgiving place?a place in which he also discovered the incredible power of books and reading. He's written his own life-changing book, which may well prevent other young men from making that detour to prison. A searing and ultimately uplifting story." Hill Harper, Best selling author of Letters to a Young Brother and Letters to a Young Sister.

"I'm so happy to have been introduced to the miracle that is R. Dwayne Betts' A Question of Freedom. It tells so many important stories: of senseless violence that plagues our streets, the devastating affect our prison system is having on so many young African-American males and the struggles we must all experience before we can find redemption. show more But perhaps most importantly, it's a story about the power of consciousness. A reminder that no matter how confining our surroundings might seem or how bleak our future might look, as long as we are in touch with our higher selves, we can always tap into both the compassion and the toughness that is in all of our hearts. Betts is a major new voice in hip-hop and I look forward to being inspired by him for years to come." Russell Simmons "A Question of Freedom is a must-read and should be required reading for all those young sons and grandsons and brothers and nephews and uncles who believe this can't happen to them; it can, even if they can't wrap their brains around such a concept." - Baltimore Times show less