Gold Medal Award Winner, 2026 Illumination Book Awards

Here is a gripping analysis of the brutal landscape of the criminal justice system, as well as an ode to the richly complex interior lives of people struggling to become free.

Dustin Feddon, a Catholic priest, and founder of Joseph House in Florida, tells it like it is, taking the listener with him on his journey, capturing the heart-wrenching realities of those incarcerated, yet bearing witness to the transcendent love manifest among those the state calls “the worst of the worst.”

The juxtaposition of an unforgiving justice system and the extraordinary mercy of everyday people is a revelation. From encountering men on death row and witnessing a barbaric execution, to founding a community dedicated to restoring the dignity of formerly incarcerated persons, Father Dustin brings the listener along as he discovers his passion and purpose. Over time, he asks whether spaces could be created that would be the antithesis of confinement dorms, welcoming people called prisoners back into the human family, re-affirming their dignity. His answer, and that of the people of Joseph House, is yes, yes, and yes.

All author royalties will go to support the work of Joseph House.