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A Grip of Time
- When Prison Is Your Life
- Narrated by: Hollis McCarthy
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
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A Grip of Time
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Publisher's Summary
A Grip of Time (prison slang for a very long sentence behind bars) takes listeners into a world most know little about - a maximum-security prison - and into the minds and hearts of the men who live there. These men, who are serving out life sentences for aggravated murder, join a fledgling Lifers' Writing Group started by award-winning author Lauren Kessler. Over the course of three years, meeting twice a month, the men reveal more and more about themselves, their pasts, and the alternating drama and tedium of their incarcerated lives. As they struggle with the weight of their guilt and wonder if they should hope for a future outside prison walls, Kessler struggles with the fiercely competing ideas of rehabilitation and punishment, forgiveness and blame that are at the heart of the American penal system.
Gripping, intense, and heartfelt, A Grip of Time: When Prison Is Your Life shows what a lifetime with no hope of release looks like up close.
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What listeners say about A Grip of Time
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 12-29-19
fascinating and insightful
This was an incredible book. Loved the humanity of it. I hope there are future books of inmate stories.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. Owens
- 01-13-22
Everyone should read about the lives behind bars
I couldn’t stop reading (listening) once I started. We have a love affair in this country with punishing people - I’m not saying there shouldn’t be accountability. This book gives insight into a few lives being lived by men serving life in prison. Before we are asked as voters about crime or serving on juries, we need to understand what we are being asked to do. Excellent writing.
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- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 222
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 201
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Story5 out of 5 stars 202
Sentenced to 65 years in a Texas prison, Damon West once had it all. He came from a great family, in a home full of God, love, support, and opportunities to reach any goal. A natural born leader, an athlete with good looks and charm, he appeared to be the all-American kid pursuing his dreams. Underneath this facade, however, was an addict in the early stages of disease. After suffering childhood sexual abuse by a babysitter at the age of nine, Damon began putting chemicals into his body to alter the way he felt.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Story
- By Amazon Customer on 03-07-23
By: Damon West
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Sparrow in the Razor Wire
- Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence
- By: Quan Huynh
- Narrated by: Quan Huynh
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story5 out of 5 stars 32
In 1999, Quan Huynh shot and killed another man in a gang-related incident in Hollywood, California. He received a prison sentence of 15 years to life in a state that, at the time, did not parole prisoners with life sentences. Behind bars, Quan continued his downward spiral. This could have been the end of the story for Quan, as it is for many prisoners. But somewhere along the way, he discovered a new path - one that prompted him to commit to self-reflection, truth, and personal responsibility.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very touching
- By JORDAN LARSEN on 10-07-22
By: Quan Huynh
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The True American
- Murder and Mercy in Texas
- By: Anand Giridharadas
- Narrated by: Anand Giridharadas
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 297
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 263
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 264
The True American tells the story of Raisuddin Bhuiyan, a Bangladesh Air Force officer who dreams of immigrating to America and working in technology. But days after 9/11, an avowed "American terrorist" named Mark Stroman, seeking revenge, walks into the Dallas minimart where Bhuiyan has found temporary work and shoots him, maiming and nearly killing him. Two other victims, at other gas stations, aren't so lucky, dying at once. The True American traces the making of these two men, Stroman and Bhuiyan, and of their fateful encounter.
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5 out of 5 stars
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moving sad story
- By John on 09-03-15
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Second Chances
- Finding Redemption in Maine
- By: Craig Grossi
- Narrated by: Craig Grossi
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story5 out of 5 stars 48
The author of the heartwarming Craig and Fred tells the deeply emotional and inspiring story of the next phase of their lives together: working closely with prison inmates in Maine who raise and train puppies to become service dogs. Second Chances poignantly shows that no life is irredeemable and that each of us can make a difference if given the opportunity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent, touching, important
- By mamaof6 on 06-28-21
By: Craig Grossi
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The Other Dr. Gilmer
- Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice
- By: Benjamin Gilmer
- Narrated by: Benjamin Gilmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
Fresh out of medical residency, Dr. Benjamin Gilmer joined a rural North Carolina clinic only to find that its previous doctor shared his last name. Dr. Vince Gilmer was loved and respected by the community—right up until he strangled his ailing father and then returned to the clinic for a regular week of work. Vince’s eventual arrest for murder shocked his patients. How could their beloved doctor be capable of such violence? The deeper Benjamin looked into Vince’s case, the more he became obsessed with discovering what pushed a good man toward darkness.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Compelling Story Turned Tedious
- By Gypsy Wife on 07-15-22
By: Benjamin Gilmer
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Prisoner
- My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison - Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out
- By: Jason Rezaian
- Narrated by: Jason Rezaian
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 300
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 262
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 262
The dramatic memoir of the journalist who was held hostage in a high-security prison in Tehran for 18 months and whose release - which almost didn’t happen - became a part of the Iran nuclear deal.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Should have been much better given subject matter
- By Sample Sloth on 04-17-19
By: Jason Rezaian
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A Knock at Midnight
- A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom
- By: Brittany K. Barnett
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 518
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 451
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Story5 out of 5 stars 451
Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever - that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, Black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America’s devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn away from her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole - for a first-time drug offense.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Riveting Listen, Inspiring, Change Your Mind
- By elena on 11-18-20
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Letters to the Sons of Society
- A Father's Invitation to Love, Honesty, and Freedom
- By: Shaka Senghor
- Narrated by: Shaka Senghor
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story5 out of 5 stars 76
Shaka Senghor has lived the life of two fathers. With his first son, Jay, born shortly after Senghor was incarcerated for second-degree murder, he experienced the regret of his own mistakes and the disconnection caused by a society that sees Black lives as disposable. With his second, Sekou, born after Senghor's release, he has experienced healing, transformation, intimacy, and the possibilities of a world where men and boys can openly show one another affection, support, and love.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Vulnerable and Profound
- By Anonymous User on 01-19-22
By: Shaka Senghor
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No Visible Bruises
- What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us
- By: Rachel Louise Snyder
- Narrated by: Rachel Louise Snyder
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 836
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 737
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Story5 out of 5 stars 728
We call it domestic violence. We call it private violence. Sometimes we call it intimate terrorism. But whatever we call it, we generally do not believe it has anything at all to do with us, despite the World Health Organization deeming it a 'global epidemic'. In No Visible Bruises, journalist Rachel Louise Snyder gives context for what we don't know we're seeing. She frames this urgent and immersive account of the scale of domestic violence in our country around key stories that explode the common myths....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not yet ready
- By Alyssa E. on 05-17-19
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My Time Will Come
- A Memoir of Crime, Punishment, Hope, and Redemption
- By: Ian Manuel, Bryan Stevenson - foreword
- Narrated by: Ian Manuel
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 133
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Story5 out of 5 stars 132
In 1991, Ian Manuel, then 14, was sentenced to life without parole for a non-homicide crime. In a botched mugging attempt with some older boys, he shot Debbie Baigrie, a young white mother of two, in the face. But as Bryan Stevenson has insisted, none of us should be judged only by the worst thing we have ever done. Capturing the fullness of his humanity, here is Manuel’s powerful testimony of growing up homeless in Central Park Village in Tampa, Florida - a neighborhood riddled with poverty, gang violence, and drug abuse - and of his efforts to rise above his circumstances.
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5 out of 5 stars
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How Long Will We Let This Go On!
- By Kindle Customer on 05-06-21
By: Ian Manuel, and others
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Trust First
- A True Story About the Power of Giving People Second Chances
- By: Bruce Deel, Sara Grace
- Narrated by: Bruce Deel, Simon Sinek
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 130
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Story5 out of 5 stars 117
When Pastor Bruce Deel took over the Mission Church in the 30314 zip code of Atlanta, he had orders to shut it down. The church was old and decrepit, and its neighborhood - known as "Better Leave, You Effing Fool", or "the Bluff", for short - had the highest rates of crime, homelessness, and incarceration in Georgia. Expecting his time there to only last six months, Deel was not prepared for what happened next. One Sunday, he was approached by a woman he didn't know. "I've been hooking and stripping for fourteen years," she said. "Can you help me?"
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5 out of 5 stars
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Listen. To. This. Book. "TRUST" me!
- By THix. on 04-13-22
By: Bruce Deel, and others
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Is Rape a Crime?
- A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto
- By: Michelle Bowdler
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story5 out of 5 stars 32
The crime of rape sizzles like a lightning strike. It pounces, flattens, destroys. A person stands whole, and in a moment of unexpected violence, that life, that body is gone. Award-winning writer and public health executive Michelle Bowdler's memoir indicts how sexual violence has been addressed for decades in our society, asking whether rape is a crime given that it is the least reported major felony, least successfully prosecuted, and fewer than three percent of rapists ever spend a day in jail.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thank you
- By Anonymous User on 01-11-23
By: Michelle Bowdler
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This Is Ear Hustle
- Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life
- By: Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods
- Narrated by: Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods, Lt. Sam Robinson, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 165
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 142
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Story5 out of 5 stars 141
When Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods met, Nigel was a photography professor volunteering with the Prison University Project and Earlonne was serving thirty-one years to life at California’s San Quentin State Prison. Initially drawn to each other by their shared interest in storytelling, neither had podcast production experience when they decided to enter Radiotopia’s contest for new shows...and won. Using the prize for seed money, Nigel and Earlonne launched Ear Hustle, named after the prison term for “eavesdropping”.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Crying, laughing and goosebumps
- By jennifer hill on 10-19-21
By: Nigel Poor, and others
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Incarceration Nations
- A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World
- By: Baz Dreisinger
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Beginning in Africa and ending in Europe, Incarceration Nations is a first-person odyssey through the prison systems of the world. Baz Dreisinger, a professor, a journalist, and the founder of the Prison-to-College Pipeline, looks into the human stories of incarcerated men and women and those who imprison them, creating a jarring, poignant view of a world to which most are denied access.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Ear opener
- By Jason Sookram on 04-13-17
By: Baz Dreisinger
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Bird Uncaged
- An Abolitionist's Freedom Song
- By: Marlon Peterson
- Narrated by: Marlon Peterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story5 out of 5 stars 31
Marlon Peterson grew up in 1980s Crown Heights, raised by Trinidadian immigrants. Amid the routine violence that shaped his neighborhood, Marlon became a high-achieving and devout child, the specter of the American dream opening up before him. But in the aftermath of immense trauma, he participated in a robbery that resulted in two murders. At 19, Peterson was charged and later convicted. He served 10 long years in prison. In Bird Uncaged, Peterson challenges the typical “redemption” narrative and our assumptions about justice.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This book is unputdownable!!
- By AuthorAnnaBella on 07-29-21
By: Marlon Peterson
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Free Cyntoia
- My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System
- By: Cyntoia Brown-Long
- Narrated by: Cyntoia Brown-Long
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,261
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,103
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Story