New York, NY (BlackNews.com) - Although Joe Robinson is incarcerated, his mind and spirit are free.
The author of the highly praised book, Think Outside the Cell: An Entrepreneur's Guide for the Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated (Resilience Multimedia), Joe has started a blog at www.thinkoutsidethecell.com. Visitors will find there his incisive commentary on a range of topics--from incarceration, prison life and prisoner reentry to politics, entrepreneurship and current events.
"By engaging in thought-provoking and meaningful dialogue, I hope to connect with the outside world--and stay in touch with my humanity," said Joe, whose first blog recounted his journey of self-discovery. "I look forward to feedback. I want to know what's on people's minds."
Through his blog and other activities, Joe is helping to present a fairer, more balanced image of the incarcerated. Although generally viewed as faceless, nameless statistics or frightening stereotypes, the incarcerated are a diverse population. Among them are many men and women like Joe who have transformed their lives while behind bars, are determined to use their skills to better society and who deserve to be released.
Even though he has been behind bars for nearly 18 years, Joe is already making important contributions to society. He has received many letters from incarcerated men and women saying that they were inspired and motivated by his book, Think Outside the Cell, which encourages this population to use what for many are innate entrepreneurial gifts to build successful lives and break the cycle of recidivism. The book presents a largely unexplored option that can help give men and women leaving prison a realistic second chance.
And Joe has also created Think Outside the Cell Week, part of what he envisions as a global movement to inspire people to overcome self-defeating attitudes and behavior and achieve their full potential. Joe conceived of the week with this nation's millions of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in mind. But he soon realized that the universal themes upon which the week rests can--and should--be adopted by anyone who wants to succeed in life. Because spring signifies new beginnings, Think Outside the Cell Week is the third week of April each year.
In other news, Joe's publisher, Resilience Multimedia, is collecting real-life stories by the incarcerated, formerly incarcerated and their loved ones for its Think Outside the Cell Series, which was inspired by Joe and is being funded by the Ford Foundation. The series will feature stories and essays of up to 3,000 words each on reentering society after incarceration, prison marriages and relationships and waiting for loved ones to come home from prison.
To read the blog, learn more about Think Outside the Cell Week and the Think Outside the Cell Series, please visit www.thinkoutsidethecell.com, or contact:
Resilience Multimedia
511 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 525, New York, NY 10011
(877) 267-2303
resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net
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