Editorial Content for The Wound Is Where the Light Enters: A Memoir of Resilience
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Reviewer (text)
Chris Young rose from an emotionally chaotic, violence-infused childhood to become a speaker, a writer and an inspiration, as he details in his powerful memoir, THE WOUND IS WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS.
Young’s early life was spent in extreme poverty as the member of a Black family that could show love but had little of it to offer. Senseless brutality and a total lack of structure made him a witness to --- and a participant in --- wounding, fighting, gangs, street crimes and, by his early 20s, sufficient drug-related entanglement to portend a life in prison. But one factor made him stand out.
"Much of [Young's] stirring memoir was written while he was in prison, and he offers a vivid, at times painful, view of a harsh childhood and the undeniably discomfiting conditions that many prisoners may face."
When facing his final sentencing after several years of incarceration, Young delivered a speech to the judge, Kevin Sharp, who never forgot his remarkable grasp of history, literature and science. Sent to a high-security federal prison, he accepted his circumstances, described in depressing detail, while refusing to relinquish his belief that “if I planted the seeds, something would grow.”
Young began teaching, an activity that supported his sense of purpose, and maintained contact with acquaintances on the outside who sent him books and continued to encourage him in his belief that he might be free someday. He endured physical and mental anguish, battled internal anger, and relied on routine to cope with the seeming hopelessness of his situation.
After a decade of the mental darkness that he strove to alleviate with such strategies as reading HAMLET and identifying with its eponymous character, Young’s sentence was commuted. This was based largely on the speech he had given and its influence on Judge Sharp, who had joined a legal team seeking his clemency.
Since his release, Young has earned a degree in economics, founded a consulting firm, and become a public speaker. And in THE WOUND IS WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS, he distinguishes himself as an accomplished author. Much of his stirring memoir was written while he was in prison, and he offers a vivid, at times painful, view of a harsh childhood and the undeniably discomfiting conditions that many prisoners may face. He has said that the book is his effort “to preserve the record and to tell the truth.”
Young’s chronicle opens with a declaration from the now-retired Judge Sharp. Recognizing that skin color was undoubtedly a factor in Young’s treatment and torment, he declares that his courtroom speech “transformed my life.” With such support, paired with Young’s undeniable skills as a stimulating and inspirational wordsmith, this dramatic saga has the potential to influence and enhearten readers across a wide spectrum.
Teaser
If our world were more just, Chris Young would have been crossing a stage at college graduation at the age of 22. Instead, he was marched into a maximum-security federal prison, facing life under mandatory drug sentencing laws. Like far too many young Black men from his neighborhood in Clarksville, Tennessee, this was where his story was supposed to end. But one day in the prison library, a book caught his eye: an encyclopedia. As he began to turn the pages, Chris felt himself transported. He began to confront the nihilism around him, the trauma of his past, and the cruelty of a system determined to confine him. At his sentencing hearing, Chris gave such a moving speech that the judge resigned from his lifetime appointment to the bench and fought to free him.
Promo
If our world were more just, Chris Young would have been crossing a stage at college graduation at the age of 22. Instead, he was marched into a maximum-security federal prison, facing life under mandatory drug sentencing laws. Like far too many young Black men from his neighborhood in Clarksville, Tennessee, this was where his story was supposed to end. But one day in the prison library, a book caught his eye: an encyclopedia. As he began to turn the pages, Chris felt himself transported. He began to confront the nihilism around him, the trauma of his past, and the cruelty of a system determined to confine him. At his sentencing hearing, Chris gave such a moving speech that the judge resigned from his lifetime appointment to the bench and fought to free him.
About the Book
The inspiring memoir of a brilliant young man who, sentenced to life in prison, refused to surrender his future --- a story so powerful that it transformed even the judge who handed down the sentence.
If our world were more just, Chris Young would have been crossing a stage at college graduation at the age of 22. Instead, he was marched into a maximum-security federal prison, facing life under mandatory drug sentencing laws. Like far too many young Black men from his neighborhood in Clarksville, Tennessee, this was where his story was supposed to end.
But one day in the prison library, a book caught his eye: an encyclopedia. As he began to turn the pages, Chris felt himself transported. Knowledge became a portal. He began to confront the nihilism around him, the trauma of his past, and the cruelty of a system determined to confine him. From the library, his cell and even solitary confinement, Chris built an education from scratch, studying philosophy, art, anthropology, history, physics and politics. He learned to analyze the stock market and taught himself how to code without a computer. He trained his mind --- and refused to let prison dictate the limits of his imagination. At his sentencing hearing, Chris gave such a moving speech that the judge resigned from his lifetime appointment to the bench and fought to free him.
Started in solitary confinement and finished beyond bars, THE WOUND IS WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS is a powerful meditation on choice, consequence and human potential, told through the story of a man who was never given a chance --- and who fought until, at last, he was.
Audiobook available, read by Amir Abdullah
