You Can Change: Stories from Angola Prison and the Psychology of Personal Transformation

by Mark W. Baker

Overview

Can people make positive changes in their lives that really last? Dr. Mark W. Baker has been trying to answer this question for the past twenty-five years as a clinical psychologist. To discover the answer, he went on a quest to find people who have changed their lives in the most dramatic ways, ending up in the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, located in Angola, Louisiana.

Once the most brutal prison in the country, Angola was transformed into one of the most effective sites for rehabilitation in the United States. Baker uses stories from inside Angola, along with his decades of experience as a clinical psychologist, to share with readers the amazing human potential for change and personal growth. Drawing on themes of forgiveness, community, justice, hope, and spirituality, Baker shows all of us how to change our lives for the better—no matter who we are or what we've done.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506455648
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	02/04/2020
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Dr. Mark W. Baker is licensed as a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist and is the executive director of La Vie Counseling Centers in Pasadena and Santa Monica, California. He is a bestselling author and his books include Spiritual Wisdom for a Happier Life (2017) and Jesus, the Greatest Therapist Who Ever Lived (2007).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 Can a Person Really Change? 5

2 Are Some People Just Bad Apples? 34

3 How to Become a Person of Character 62

4 People Need Community to Change 92

5 Justice Means Making Things Right 112

6 True Hope versus Wishful Thinking 126

7 The Difference between Religion and Spiritual Transformation 150

8 Resentment Imprisons, and Forgiveness Sets You Free 169

9 Does Change Really Last? 188

Endnotes 205

Editorial Reviews

"Dr. Mark W. Baker takes us to Angola Prison to show us that change can happen to anyone. He gives us his scientific research and insight but then he tells us stories—gripping stories of people who truly made lasting change against all odds. If they can, we can, too." —Ruth Graham, daughter of Billy Graham and author of Forgiving My Father, Forgiving Myself: An Invitation to the Miracles of Forgiveness

"Through Baker's personal anecdotes—as well as stories from inmates, guards, wardens, and others—the reader gains insight into the amazing stories of faith and justice in the lives of men in Angola Prison." —Honorable Tony Hall, US Ambassador to the United Nations and former US Congressman

"Among all social locations in American society, Angola Prison is among the darkest and most desolate. Yet there at Angola, by necessity, also shines the brightest light of faith and redemption. In You Can Change, Dr. Mark W. Baker digs deeply into the inner workings of religiously motivated compassion and forgiveness for achieving redemption in the minds and hearts of inmates. Required reading." —Michael Hallett, professor and chair of the criminology department, University of North Florida

"Hallelujah! Thank you, Dr. Baker, for your courage in eloquently sharing your first-hand knowledge of the powerful and true stories of positive moral rehabilitation taking place in one of our country's most infamous maximum-security penitentiary communities." —Catherine Fontenot, deputy warden, East Baton Rouge sheriff's office and former assistant warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola

From the Publisher