This is an Amazing and Powerful Read. ( )

Very inspirational story of himself, getting out of a life that tried very hard to drag him back in. About his work on improving his life when no one else in the system would help him. Beating the odds and highlighting how the system is designed to keep a cycle of crime and a life time of imprisonment. Overall an inspiring and positive story how you can make change in your own life, by starting a Master Plan. ( )

The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose, Chris Wilson, Brett Witter, Wes Moore, authors; Chris Wilson, Wes Moore, narrators.
This book was the third in a row that I have read about the unjust “justice” system for people, especially those of color, which forces them into a state of despair. It made me wonder how anyone could survive the inequitable system without having hate in their hearts for those who perpetuate it. How is it even possible to escape from the hell hole some people are born into, the poverty, the crime, the lawlessness, the drink, the drugs, the substandard education, the dysfunctional family, and all the other negative societal influences that seem to be constantly confronting and destroying their lives.
Wilson was abandoned by his family and the loss of support weighed heavily upon him, in and out of prison. Although it seems as if he was forced into a life of crime and violence by the environment he was reared in, one that persisted for generations, he has fought his way out and now works hard to help others trapped in the same situation so they might survive and escape the pattern of destructive behavior and failure. There is no doubt that the streets where he lived, outside Baltimore, were dangerous, and the residents that lived there had little hope of advancement due partly to a lack of education, and little or no material wealth and partly to a sense of despair and hopelessness. It was also due to an attitude which was pervasive that seemed to insist that they were helpless to find a way out.
As a teen, Wilson was arrested. Then he fathered a child. Then, at age 17, he was given a life sentence for murder. Although it is not hard to understand his violent reaction which led to the murder, after learning of everything he had lived through up until the moment he fired the fatal shots with an illegal gun, the reader understands that he should be punished in some way for such a crime. However, the person he killed was someone of little value to the community. He had harassed others, had his own criminal record, and a history of violence. Should Wilson have been tried as an adult, although he was still legally a child? Should it have been self defense since he was cornered and attacked from behind? He had already been beaten and harassed by neighbors and cops and even so called associates. So perhaps, he overreacted, but isn’t it possible that he thought his own life was at stake? I also think that it is hard to imagine how anyone, in and around Baltimore, can survive without a gun or a particular kind of attitude to project strength and power.
Another problem that exists in these envelopes of poverty is a lack of an honor system. No one would turn in any of the bad guys because if you ratted, you paid in one way or another, perhaps with your life. So what could possibly be the solution for a Chris Wilson in the hood? Well, he made a plan to get himself out of prison, a plan which could work outside, as well. He called it his master plan and listed all of the things he needed to do to have a better life and reverse his life sentence. Slowly, he worked hard to accomplish all of the items on his list. He followed it to a “t”. He was more successful, than many, although it took years. His method now helps others succeed in improving themselves as well. He makes them create real goals and follow a path to achieve them. I wonder, though, how is it possible to make his efforts and results more permanent and beneficial for more members of the society from which he came?
I found his efforts to be very admirable. However, when he espoused a policy of keeping one’s head down, which allows the same harassment to continue and take others down, I was disappointed. I realize it is dangerous to fight back, but if people are afraid, even if rightfully so, this system of harassment and terror will continue to perpetuate itself. Also, when he espoused some of the false interpretations of crimes, like the Michael Brown “hands up don’t shoot”, which caused violence and became the theme of many riots, I thought that he may have gotten out of his maelstrom, but he hadn’t gotten away from the issue that keeps those like him from rising up. The values, supported by those in the neighborhood, have to be positive and have to correct the evil that exists, but not with a false narrative and not with fear. There has to be someone with enough courage and protection to change this system of continual violence and crime.
Like the first “me too” victim that made it possible for there to be other victims by acquiescing, he has, and still is, allowing the system to perpetuate itself. However, he proved you could rehabilitate someone, you could trust an ex-convict, even a murderer once they paid for their crime. However, you couldn’t force them to follow a code of honor, and that seems to be something that is really necessary for true change to take place.
While no one seemed to ever stop and wonder why so many were punished so severely, none of those punished were able or willing to turn in those who created the atmosphere on the street that was so dangerous for all of them. That keeps them uneducated and in poverty and in lives of crime. Punishment will continue to be meted out and the victims will be lost in the miasma of prison life until real change occurs.
I was totally enthralled with the author and his presentation. I was unbelievably impressed with the courage and determination of Chris Wilson, not only to reform himself, but to also reform the prison and other prisoners. Wilson forces the reader to realize how hard it is to get out of the culture he was born into, a culture of unwed mothers, drugs and violence as an accepted way of life. Yet he made it against insurmountable odds so it proves there is hope. ( )