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Romantic Adventure

Saturday 3 November 2018

Expert Review Of Naked As A Jailbird

By Harold Campbell


What is your perception of people who are in jail or who have been incarcerated? Naturally, they are not the kind you would desire to spend time with or engage in conversations. In fact, many people wish they had tags or marks on their foreheads to make them easily recognizable. It is not until you have read Naked as a Jailbird that it dawns on you that they have a human face and desires, just like you.

Richard Shaw writes the book from the perspective of a prison chaplain. His eyes are compassionate as expected, but this is not his motivation to write the book. You will not see him pleading with people to change their ways. He gives a narrative of a reality that people assume exists and will be surprised to realize that there are people living this reality.

It is not lost to Richard Shaw that the society labels these prisoners as criminals, outcasts and person who deliberately got themselves in the mess. It is only when you spend time with them that you realize that there is more to their lives than being criminals. Many people will not believe that some are innocent. Others think that this claim is made to justify incarceration. Richard Shaw has a different story to tell.

And how is prison life? Where is hope while the justice system has condemned you to life in prison? What is the role of religion in such a setting, a religion that preaches on forgiveness and repentance? These are deep philosophical questions that Richard seeks to explore in this book. The answers will surprise you just like some of the cases described in this book.

Prison is a ministry where people will be assigned yet not everyone can manage that. Shaw chose to work in prison because it was a special calling. This experience revealed a world of difference between people who are free and those living behind bars. According to Richard, it takes the grace of God to minister in this environment.

What role do prisons play in the society and is it still relevant today? Are people being changed by being locked up and what activities go on behind bars to facilitate this change? There is a desire to change with most people waking up to this reality immediately they settle in prison. But is there a return door for such people? Surprisingly, prison warders and people who appear to command a lot of respect in this environment are also in a prison of their own.

The choice of such words as naked points at a helpless situation. It leaves you thinking about the form of nakedness that people in prison experience. This is a place with no secrets. How does it affect the people who go in and how do they live? The book exposes what else these people are stripped of apart from their cloths.

The book is a quick read that will transform your idea of prison life. It will surprise you that prison warders and other staff could be in greater prisons than the actual prisoners. What about ministering in prison? The answer lies deep in the paragraphs.




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