Grace Goes to Prison

This book goes beyond being a wonderful story about a truly caring soul who pursues a career of providing hope and inspiration to prisoners. It also challenges the reader to face incredibly timely and relevant issues, such as the need and cost of keeping people locked up for life without parole, the lack of emphasis on prisoner rehabilitation and societal re-entry, the budget-busting expendit

This compelling story of how one woman's courage and caring made a difference in the lives of so many is inspiring. It is also a wake-up call for us as a society to look at the long term harm caused by our current policies of incarceration without emphasis on rehabilitation. Melanie Snyder draws us into the world of prison inmates and staff with stories of humanity, heartbreak, and love. "Grace

I highly recommend this book to anyone involved in prison work or prison ministry. It captivates so well that inmates are human beings after all, most just making stupid/impulsive decisions. With many more Maries and programs like CentrePeace working with inmates, recidivism can be reduced and thus, the need for more prisons/jails. Jon Singer, Executive Director, Lancaster Area Victim Offender Rec

Grace Goes to Prison is the story of one woman's 30-year volunteer ministry in the Pennsylvania prison system. Blessed with a remarkable gift, Marie Hamilton is able both to envision and execute new ways of thinking about incarceration. The book, by Melanie G. Snyder, is a non-theoretical, engaging account of restorative versus retributive justice. Some readers will question this shift from a m

One is quickly drawn into this book and feels compelled to try to understand the population being served as well as the committment of those serving. Coming from a peace-perspective background, it was so encouraging to see how it was acted out on many occasions and to hear the positive results of such a witness. I was horrified at some of the experiences of the subject, but rejoiced when the pos