Jason Kurtz, an incarcerated author at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, has written four highly praised books: Secrets to Wealth, Secrets to Wisdom, Secrets to Wealth and Wisdom, and Secret Tales of the Supernatural. All are available as paperbacks or e-books at Amazon. We interview Jason Kurtz, a member of PenPals.Buzz, as he shares fascinating details about what it took to actually write and publish a book from his prison cell. He also shares excerpts from his books and talks about his motivation for writing them.

Locked up for over ten years, Kurtz purchased and read hundreds of self-help, personal growth, and prosperity books from his prison bunkbed. He took notes on the most important parts of each book -- topics such as gratitude, dating, concentration, healthy eating, hypnosis, body language, self-esteem, wealth-building, lie detecting, and so much more. Due to his prison's limit of 25 publications allowed per Inmate, Kurtz took copious notes of the most important parts of each book so that he would still have the valuable information (even if the prison guards took the books away from him). A decade later, Jason Kurtz compiled all of this amazing information (without all of the fluff) into one all-encompassing book: Secrets to Wealth and Wisdom. He has done all the reading, and all the work, to make your personal growth journey easier and much more affordable. Pretty amazing, if you ask us, even for someone on the streets to accomplish. But to do all this from the confines of the Waupun Correctional Institution is, in our minds, incredible.

His fourth book deviated from the Self-Help genre. Secret Tales of the Supernatural is a non-fiction account of terrifying events that the author experienced firsthand. All stories are 100% real and 100% frightening. In this episode, he'll share some of these supernatural experiences with Big Steve.

We think you'll enjoy Jason's personality, charisma, and the tremendous effort he put forth in writing and publishing these books. When he speaks, you can tell he has a passion for helping others learn some of these beneficial concepts that helped him get through a decade behind bars. He also discusses his plans for his future, once released from prison, including becoming a stand-up comedian! We regret not asking him to tell us his favorite joke; perhaps we will in a follow-up episode. Learn more about him at https://penpals.buzz/inmate/jason-kurtz

It was Easter, 2020. PenPals.Buzz member Colby Brookman was driving home from dinner at his mother-in-law's house, where he had been drinking. His wife, J'lynne Stothers, was a passenger in the front seat. In the back were Colby and J'lynne's two infant daughters, Ariana and Ava, along with his 32-year-old brother-in-law, Matthew, who was autistic.

Unaware he had made a wrong turn, Colby was trying to find a local radio station on the dial as he drove his 2004 GMC Sierra, too fast, down Grand Avenue in Oroville. He thought he was on a highway heading back toward Sacramento. It happened so fast. He heard his wife yelling his name, "Colby!!" When he glanced up from the radio, he knew he was about to crash. Afraid of rolling his truck, he continued straight. Seconds later, he, his car, and his entire family were submerged 32 feet underwater in a canal near Lake Oroville. His brother-in-law died at the scene. His two daughters died at the hospital the next day. J'lynne survived. Colby was arrested at the scene, after blowing a 0.12 blood alcohol level, just slightly over the legal limit in California.

Today, Colby Brookman is five years into his 37 years to Life sentence at the Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, a prison exclusively for inmates with "sensitive needs." He's housed with gang dropouts, police informants, sex offenders, and former law enforcement officers. When a man is convicted of killing two young children, he wouldn't fare too well in a general population prison, especially one in California. The life sentence sounds harsh, but the ultimate punishment, says Colby, is looking in the mirror each morning and knowing he, himself, was responsible for the death of his children. He was supposed to be their protector, and instead he drove them into a canal, to their death.

We interview Colby about life with his daughters before the accident, what happened leading up to the crash, his alcoholism, his intense guilt and shame, and his coping techniques which help him get through each day in prison (including trying to make new pen pals and friends to communicate with through his incarceration). What might his daughters would say to him today, if they could speak from the grave? Would they forgive him? Would he ever want to marry and have kids again? What advice would he give to an alcoholic who continues to drive drunk (as he did almost every day)? He'll answer these, and so many other questions in this heartbreaking interview.

Learn more about Colby Brookman on his PenPals.Buzz profile page

Annie Perry is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who often helps her therapy clients learn to manage grief. She's also a prison wife. Annie met her husband, Henry, nine years ago on a prison pen pal site called Friends Beyond the Wall. Today, their relationship is stronger than ever.

Together, they formed a business called JailHouse Books, and have subsequently published over 90 books, including at least 75 activity books created specifically for incarcerated men and women. In addition to sudoku, word searches, crosswords, and a myriad of other challenging and fun puzzles, these books offer inmates strength, comfort, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.

On this episode, Annie speaks in more depth about the books. She also shares valuable insights and suggestions, based on nearly a decade of experience, for other prison wives or partners navigating through their own prison relationships. "I'm not just a prison wife, I am Annie," she proclaims, stressing the importance of staying actively engaged in something meaningful (and unrelated) to her prison wife status. She recommends continuing to work on yourself and continuing to do the things you like to do without letting prison consume your identity.

Annie and Henry have been together for nine years -- significantly longer than the vast majority of prison relationships. Their love story is yet another wonderful example of how a prison pen pal website can (and often will) lead to a successful and productive marriage.

Find Annie Perry on TikTok @TeamPerry2016 or search JailHouse Books on Facebook for more information.