Writing My Wrongs Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus Writing My Wrongs

Einleitung anhören

00:00

Zusammenfassung von Writing My Wrongs

Name: Writing My Wrongs
Rating: 3.4 (11 reviews)
Author: Shaka Senghor

Shaka Senghor

Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison

3.4 (11 Bewertungen)

13 Min.

Themen

Memoiren

Inhaltsübersicht

Writing My Wrongs
in 6 Kernaussagen verstehen

Audio & Text in der Blinkist App

Kernaussage 1 von 6

What’s in it for me? A remarkable story of drugs, violence, prison and redemption.

Do you remember your teenage years? For many of us, this was when we experienced our first taste of independence from our parents. They were exciting times when we could experiment with drinking, smoking and dating for the first time. But they were also times of emotional turmoil when we struggled to find boundaries and came into conflict with our parents – and maybe even the law.

Most of us make our way through these tricky years largely unscathed. However, others, including the author, Shaka Senghor, go off the rails. This is the story of how, at the age of 14, Senghor entered a world of drugs and violence at the height of the 1980s crack epidemic in Detroit.

Despite growing up in a safe home with a loving family, he slipped into highly destructive habits, selling drugs, committing murder and eventually finding himself in prison. These blinks will take you through Senghor’s lifelong journey, showing you what made him go astray and how he found redemption.

You’ll also learn

about the dark world of Detroit’s 1980s crack epidemic;
why calling 911 in 1980s Detroit was a waste of time; and
why prison life is so dangerous.

Shaka Senghor’s childhood took an unexpected turn when his parents’ divorce scarred him emotionally.

Our lives can often take unpredictable twists and turns, leaving us in places far from where we thought we’d end up, or situations we’d never dreamed of. The author, Shaka Senghor, experienced one such twist at a young age, and it had a telling influence on the rest of his life.

As a child in 1980s Detroit, Shaka grew up in a warm, loving environment with a big family. Shaka’s parents would often host family get-togethers, which would come alive with singing, eating and dancing.

During the holidays, the family would come together to hang Christmas decorations, and Shaka recalls with particular fondness how his father would give him and his three sisters money to go to the local ice skating rink.

Shaka had a promising future ahead of him. He remembers how, when his mother asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he’d proudly say that he wanted to become a doctor. This way, Shaka said, he could give lollipops to kids getting their shots, and help sick people to get better.

But things took an unexpected turn for the worse when his parents’ marriage ran into trouble. Shaka’s parents first split up when he was eleven, and it devastated him. The close-knit family life he’d grown to depend on had been taken away from him.

After a year of separation, Shaka’s parents got back together again, much to his delight; unfortunately, this only lasted for a few months. Shaka’s parents separated again, and this time, Shaka was told that he had to move to another part of Detroit with his father. Feeling confused and rejected, Shaka blamed the situation on himself. What had he done to make his mother want to get rid of him?

Trying to find his own way, Shaka fell in with the wrong crowd, leading him into a world of drugs and violence.

Did you ever think about running away as a kid? Well, Shaka was one of the few who ended up actually doing it. Shaka turned 14 in 1986, at the high point of Detroit’s crack epidemic. He became preoccupied with smoking cigarettes, dating girls and staying out late.

Shaka’s mother was dismayed. During his weekend visits to her home, she had no idea how to manage his rebellious behavior other than by physically punishing him, or reminding him that he was free to pack up and walk right out the door. It wasn’t long before Shaka did just that.

Shaka soon discovered the social validation that came with dealing, as well as the grim lives of the addicted.

Most 14-year-olds have different priorities than adults; when you’re young, it’s easy to get carried away by your desire for social acceptance and money. This was especially true for Shaka, and without parental guidance, there was nothing holding him back.

Shaka soon became enthralled by the money he was earning. Armed with his new weekly salary, he began to frequent local malls, shopping for the freshest clothes and sneakers. Between the Jordans, Filas and Ballys, Shaka spent more money building his wardrobe in a short time than most adults do in years.

Shaka continued down a dark path, and things came to a head when he was convicted of murder.

When you think of drug addicts, who do you think of? Loving mothers? Schoolteachers? Established professionals? As Shaka would soon learn through experience, the crack epidemic that gripped Detroit in the 1980s affected all sectors of society and all areas of the community.

The drug world brought Shaka in direct contact with despair and suffering. On one occasion, Shaka was visited by a woman known as the “head doctor.” With unwashed clothes, tangled hair and red eyes, she displayed all the obvious signs of crack addiction. People called her the “head doctor” because she offered to exchange oral sex for drugs with anyone who had them, even if they were just a kid, like Shaka.

In prison, Shaka got no respite from the violence that had plagued his life on the streets.

American prisons are very dangerous places. Theft and violent crime are commonplace, and guards can do little to protect inmates from each other.

Take the story of a prisoner on Shaka’s block named Seven. Once, Seven gave away some of his breakfast to a newbie inmate. Later, Seven asked the newbie how he was going to repay him for the food. The newbie inmate, confused, said that he thought Seven had just not been hungry.

For years, Shaka rebelled against the system – but through reading and writing, Shaka’s perspective on life was transformed.

When you think of the best places to get an education, prison likely wouldn’t be one of the first to come to mind – but this was indeed the case for Shaka. With all the time he suddenly had on his hands, Shaka began to borrow novels from the prison library.

Before long, Shaka was led to discover the works of authors such as Malcolm X. These authors discussed issues such as the history of African people in America, and their books helped Shaka make sense of issues of race in America. He could now understand better why prisons were disproportionately filled with black people.

Du möchtest die gesamte Zusammenfassung von Writing My Wrongs sehen?

Kernaussagen in Writing My Wrongs

Mehr Wissen in weniger Zeit

Sachbücher auf den Punkt gebracht

Kernaussagen aus Sachbüchern in ca. 15 Minuten pro Titel lesen & anhören mit den „Blinks”

Zeitsparende Empfehlungen

Titel, die dein Leben bereichern, passend zu deinen Interessen und Zielen

Podcasts in Kurzform ^Neu

Kernaussagen wichtiger Podcasts im Kurzformat mit den neuen „Shortcasts”

Worum geht es in Writing My Wrongs?

Writing My Wrongs (2013) tells the story of a man growing up during Detroit’s 1980s crack epidemic. These blinks take you on a journey from his happy childhood to a life of drugs, gangs, murder and a 19-year prison sentence – and how he came to find hope and redemption through writing.

Bestes Zitat aus Writing My Wrongs

The young Black male has perfected the art of being the best at being the worst. – Noted black psychologist Amos Wilson

—Shaka Senghor

Wer Writing My Wrongs lesen sollte

Activists looking to learn more about life in American prisons
Students of sociology seeking to complement their studies with a personal story
Readers with family members in the prison system

Über den Autor

Shaka Senghor is a mentor, writer and TED speaker who spent 19 years in prison for murder. He currently works as the Director of Strategy and Innovation with #cut50, an initiative to reduce the US prison population by half by the year 2025.

Kategorien mit Writing My Wrongs

Biografien & Memoiren

Ähnlich wie Writing My Wrongs

Your Brain Is Always Listening

Daniel G. Amen

Tame the Hidden Dragons That Control Your Happiness, Habits, and Hang-Ups

The Science of Changing Your Mind

The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot

What to Say to Get Your Way

Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock

How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance and Power

How Looking Backward Moves us Forward

My Remarkable Life in Show Business

The Secrets to Living Your Longest, Healthiest Life

A Flaw in Human Judgment

19 min

4.4

Sun Tzu and the Art of Business

Mark R. McNeilly

Six Strategic Principles for Managers

17 min

4.5

How to Travel the World on $50 a Day

Matt Kepnes

Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter

Tap Into Your Infinite Potential and Unlock the Keys to Abundance

17 min

Ego is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday

The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent

22 min

4.4

Do I Make Myself Clear?

Harold Evans

Why Writing Well Matters

Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society

14 min

4.2

Mindful Self-Discipline

Giovanni Dienstmann

Living with Purpose and Achieving Your Goals in a World of Distractions

18 min

4.5

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

Carmine Gallo

Master the gold standard for presentations

16 min

4.7

No Cure for Being Human

Kate Bowler

(and Other Truths I Need to Hear)

How Non-Conformists Move the World

The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone

11 min

3.6

The Power of Discipline

Daniel Walter

How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

How to Create Intrigue and Connect with Anyone

9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived Longest

What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money – That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!

29 min

4.6

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

Matthew McKay

Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance

A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize and Simplify

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

Better Business Makes the Greater Good

16 min

4.1

Things No One Else Can Teach Us

Humble the Poet

Turning Losses Into Lessons

Listening to Ignite the Human Mind

20 min

4.5

The Power of the Pussy

Kara King

How to Get What You Want from Men: Love, Respect, Commitment and More!

13 min

3.5

You Can Fix Your Brain

Dr. Tom O'Bryan

Just 1 Hour a Week to the Best Memory, Productivity, and Sleep You've Ever Had

19 min

4.1

The Interpretation of Dreams

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud’s influential cornerstone work

The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

15 min

4.4

How to Measure Anything

Douglas W. Hubbard

Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business

How to Stop Struggling and Start Living

New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey

14 min

3.8

The Pomodoro Technique

Francesco Cirillo

The effective method of structuring your workday into small, manageable chunks

16 min

4.6

The Power of One More

Ed Mylett

The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success

The 7 Things Resilient People Do Differently (And How They Can Help You Succeed in Business and Life)

The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and in Life)

Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It

18 min

4.2

The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management

Zachary Wong

Solving the Most Common People Problems for Team Leaders

What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know

Powerful Habits to Own Your Thoughts, Understand Your Feelings, and Change Your Life

9 min

3.9

The Cask of Amontillado

Edgar Allan Poe

A Dark Romantic Tale of Revenge, Deceit, and Murder

13 min

4.1

High Performance Habits

Brendon Burchard

How Extraordinary People Become That Way

18 min

4.6

❤️ für Blinkist️️️

Ines S.

Ich bin begeistert. Ich liebe Bücher aber durch zwei kleine Kinder komme ich einfach nicht zum Lesen. Und ja, viele Bücher haben viel bla bla und die Quintessenz ist eigentlich ein Bruchteil.

Genau dafür ist Blinkist total genial! Es wird auf das Wesentliche reduziert, die Blinks sind gut verständlich, gut zusammengefasst und auch hörbar! Das ist super. 80 Euro für ein ganzes Jahr klingt viel, aber dafür unbegrenzt Zugriff auf 3000 Bücher. Und dieses Wissen und die Zeitersparnis ist unbezahlbar.

Ekaterina S.

Extrem empfehlenswert. Statt sinnlos im Facebook zu scrollen höre ich jetzt täglich zwischen 3-4 "Bücher". Bei manchen wird schnelle klar, dass der Kauf unnötig ist, da schon das wichtigste zusammen gefasst wurde..bei anderen macht es Lust doch das Buch selbständig zu lesen. Wirklich toll

Nils S.

Einer der besten, bequemsten und sinnvollsten Apps die auf ein Handy gehören. Jeden morgen 15-20 Minuten für die eigene Weiterbildung/Entwicklung oder Wissen.

Julia P.

Viele tolle Bücher, auf deren Kernaussagen reduziert- präzise und ansprechend zusammengefasst. Endlich habe ich das Gefühl, Zeit für Bücher zu finden, für die ich sonst keine Zeit habe.