Lennon weaves reflections on his own past, crime, and time in prison throughout the stories of three other men guilty of taking a life, whom he has served alongside in New York prisons. For Lennon, it was a creative writing workshop that he fought to get into in Attica in 2010—along with twice-weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings—that pushed him out of the numbing so common in prison and toward cultivating reflection and remorse. In his book, Lennon weaves reflections on his own past, crime, and time in prison throughout the stories of three other men guilty of taking a life, whom he has served alongside in New York prisons.