“Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir”, is based on Andy Douglas' experience as a volunteer singing in a choir with prisoners, the book delves into issues of restorative justice, music and the arts as rehabilitative tools, and explores some of the most pressing issues facing the criminal justice system and the men and women whom we as a society have chosen to put behind bars. Through interviews, correspondence and personal experience, I tell the stories of several “insiders,” volunteers and prison administrators, aimed at providing a window into this complex and fraught world. The book also takes a deep dive into a number of the issues facing the criminal justice system. It engages with restorative justice and the importance of victim acknowledgment and reparation. It looks at other programs that help insiders atone and come to grips with their emotional lives, as well as develop skills and knowledge they’ll need post-release. Mostly, though, the book is about the sheer joy of making music together, of creative, collective, connective singing!

Andy Douglas is the author of The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga. He was born in Brazil to missionary parents, and travel and spiritual practice have shaped his life ever since. He has practiced yoga and meditation for thirty years, and lived for seven years in various countries of Asia. After returning from Korea in 1990, he worked as a journalist and public radio announcer, before receiving a bachelors’ degree in Anthropology from the University of Iowa. In 2005, he received an MFA in Creative Writing, also from the University of Iowa, where he was the recipient of the Marcus Bach Fellowship for Writing about Religion and Culture. His essays, stories and translations have appeared in Mary, New Renaissance, J Journal, Fogged Clarity, Nimrod, Pisgah Review, Bayou, and The Examined Life. He received a full fellowship for residency at the Vermont Studio Center, and has also had residencies at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center and the Prairie Center of the Arts. He’s active in peace, economic justice and prison issues, and sings in a choir with prisoners. His partner, Lois, and he both live in Iowa City, Iowa. He has a love for film, music, and literature.