Serving Time, Serving Others: Acts of Kindness by Inmates, Prison Staff, Victims, and Volunteers

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I just started working as a Psychiatric Nurse in the prison system and it was nice to read about different experiences written by broad spectrum of those involved in the prison system.

When Tom and Laura Lagana came to me in 2003 about the possibility of compiling their inspirational prison stories, I had no idea that they would sell 30,000 copies within a three-year period. So many families are touched in one way or another by the correctons system, this little gem of a book is flying off the shelves and into eager hands.

A Beautiful Book "I loved `Serving Time, Serving Others.' It made me smile and cry at once. Thanks to Laura and Tom Lagana for producing this beautiful work. What an inspiration to read. I am the mother of a son serving life in High Desert State Prison. He was arrested a week after he turned 21 and is 28 now. After entering the nightmare of prison life, I didn't know people like those written about in this book existed. I really and truly needed to read this book. I can't wait to send it to my son.

Serving Time, Serving Others is a heartwarming compilation of stories centered on the prison system. The stories are authored by inmates, volunteers and prison staff, and all of the stories will cause you to reevaluate any preconceived thoughts you may have on the prison system. The book will make you less judgmental and more judicious. Several stories, all of which were written by inmates, touched my heart as I read this book.A Ten-Cent Pen by Matt Matteo: This story succinctly shows how an inmate can grow within the walls of his imprisonment. An Unexpected Favor by William Ryan: An ex-inmate reveals the changes his incarceration wrought in small ways upon his life, exchanging the high with drugs for the high of helping others.My Friend Sarama by George Toth: An inmate's view of how quickly we all judge others after the September 11th tragedyThe Angel Tree by Terrell L. Thomas: The real victims of an inmate's mistake are his own family, yet the compassion of volunteers renews his faith.Hungry for Freedom by Shannon Grillo: All the things we take for granted by being free are emphasized by an inmate's brief thoughts of escape and realization that to heal her soul, she must pay her debt to society. I recommend this book be read by anyone who works in a prison, who has a loved one incarcerated, or who may be in prison themselves. The stories will ease some positive into what may seem to be only a negative situation. This book will give you hope.

"As one who has been invloved in prisoner outreach for more than 20 years, I can relate to the storeies in "Serving Time, Serving Others". This book helps the general public to understand that despite what they may have heard, not every prisoner is an unfeeling, bloodthirsty monster". ...