Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado Humans can end up torturing themselves with possibilities. If only this had happened or that hadn't. What if I said no instead of yes? I should have gone in this direction instead of that one. I used to know...
My friend Allison works as a rural family medicine PA in Idaho and she sent me this book. Besides being a thoughtful gift it caught my attention for a multitude of reasons. One being the book is about pleasure, pain and finding a balance between...
My friend Mark sent me the first book I read on Stoic Philosophy. We've had a few email exchanges on Stoicism and various other topics since then and he followed up with another book - A Guide to the Good Life. I was eager to...
When you are searching you are looking for something - like buried treasure, a person lost in the woods or car keys. A search is temporary in nature. The mission is successful or it is not. Underway or terminated. There is an vast amount of writing...
I thought I wouldn't take much away from this book as I was told the concepts are fairly basic. However, I figured that since it was a gift from a good friend and I have the time I should read it. I have to admit,...
The first book I read on the Holocaust was about the psychological component of suffering and how the author made it through several years in multiple concentration camps. This story focuses on the nuanced aspects of daily life in a another mans journey through what...
As I write this it is 6:30 am on Monday morning. Unbeknownst to me it was going to be a day to put into practice what I have been reading and learning about Stoicism as well as humility and patience. I woke up at 5:30 to...
Yankton Federal Prison Camp is a minimum security prison in Yankton, South Dakota. These types of facilities are for white collar offenders - places where inmates will be surrounded by their professional peers and those of similar backgrounds. Or so the thinking goes. White collar offenders represent...
I am writing a report on a writer's writing on writing. Fortunately, the book does not include any stories about a she selling seashells by the seashore. I never used to write for entertainment, therapy, or any reason other than emails or a birthday card. ...
've written several times that when I leave here I will have to answer to myself for how I handled my incarceration. I've also written about how being selfless is far more rewarding than being selfish. Most of my free time at Yankton FPC has...