Compelling, eye opening, and captivating. Schwartz and Chaney provide a fresh look on an age-old phenomenon: Incarceration. Their unique approach of inviting diverse voices through primary sources and testimonies of formerly incarcerated persons who spanned geographic space and time, racial and gender identity location, as well as type of conviction offers the reader a different perspective on the prison experience. This perspective highlights the transformative learning potentiality born from the dark recesses of imprisonment. It reminds us that saving the soul of America hinges on rescuing our humanity from the inhumanity of a justice system built on racist ideology and practices.

Lisa R. Merriweather

Gifts from the Dark sounds a valuable and timely call to heed the voices of those who have experiences of incarceration, especially when it comes to reforming the criminal legal system and advancing racial and social justice. As this book makes abundantly clear, those with lived experience of prison have much to offer based on the insight and wisdom that can be attained, and the personal transformation that can take place, in the face of deeply challenging and disruptive circumstances. Chaney and Schwartz persuasively show that our society has much to gain from these illuminating perspectives.

Emma Hughes, California State University, Fresno

The authors of Gifts from the Dark masterfully navigate the reader’s intellectual dissonance against the existence of physical, emotional, and psychological experiences of incarceration serving as counterpaces for transformational learning to occur. The is a timely and compelling analysis of the economic and social politicization of prison experiences; forcing the reader to grapple with this paradox.

Dionne Rosser-Mims, Troy University

Here, Schwartz and Chaney brilliantly explore the theme of personal transformation enhanced by incarceration…. The authors provide numerous interesting asides, such as discussing pedagogy versus andragogy, finding happiness in prison, and coping with learning during a pandemic. They also discuss Black family cultural dynamics in comprehending the links between race and incarceration and show that electronic monitoring is not proven to support corrections.Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

Choice Reviews