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

Reginald Dwayne Betts

3.7/5 ( ratings)

A powerful debut memoir from a published poet and emerging writer.
At the age of sixteen, R. Dwayne Betts — a good student from a lower-middle-class family — carjacked a man with a friend. He had never held a gun before, but within a matter of minutes he had committed six felonies. In Virginia, carjacking is a “certifiable” offense, meaning that Dwayne would be treated as an adult under state law. A bright young kid, weighing only 126 pounds — not enough to fill out a medium T-shirt — he served his eight-year sentence as part of the adult population in some of the worst prisons in the state.
“A Question of Freedom” is a coming-of-age story, with the unique twist that it takes place in prison. Utterly alone — and with the growing realization that he really is not going home any time soon — Dwayne confronts profound questions about violence, freedom, crime, race, and the justice system. Above all, “A Question of Freedom” is about a quest for identity — one that guarantees Dwayne’s survival in a hostile environment and that incorporates an understanding of how his own past led to the moment of his crime.

Language: English

Pages: 240

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Avery Publishing Group

Release: August 06, 2009

ISBN: 1583333487

ISBN 13: 9781583333488

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

Reginald Dwayne Betts

3.7/5 ( ratings)

A powerful debut memoir from a published poet and emerging writer.
At the age of sixteen, R. Dwayne Betts — a good student from a lower-middle-class family — carjacked a man with a friend. He had never held a gun before, but within a matter of minutes he had committed six felonies. In Virginia, carjacking is a “certifiable” offense, meaning that Dwayne would be treated as an adult under state law. A bright young kid, weighing only 126 pounds — not enough to fill out a medium T-shirt — he served his eight-year sentence as part of the adult population in some of the worst prisons in the state.
“A Question of Freedom” is a coming-of-age story, with the unique twist that it takes place in prison. Utterly alone — and with the growing realization that he really is not going home any time soon — Dwayne confronts profound questions about violence, freedom, crime, race, and the justice system. Above all, “A Question of Freedom” is about a quest for identity — one that guarantees Dwayne’s survival in a hostile environment and that incorporates an understanding of how his own past led to the moment of his crime.

Language: English

Pages: 240

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Avery Publishing Group

Release: August 06, 2009

ISBN: 1583333487

ISBN 13: 9781583333488

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