Hello! Dr. David Jobes is my guest on this episode. Our discussion centers around that ugly word, suicide. Dr. Jobes provides expert-level information about the treatment of incarcerated individuals in this area. Please check out his impressive background and current affiliations. Dr. David Jobes For more information on CAMS Click! David's Books - …

Welcome! Ever thought about starting your own business? My guest this week thinks it's a good option for ex-offenders and we discuss that on this episode. Lifeline to a Soul is a book written by my guest, John McLaughlin. The book is about John's experiences teaching entrepreneurship to inmates. Check our discussion on this episode!…

Hello ! Welcome to the podcast. My guest this week is Frank Dimaio. Frank's latest book, A Promise Made, a Promise Kept, caught my attention. The book is a study on how to deal with grief. What does grief have to do with serving time in prison? Short answer - a lot! There are an incredible amount of "professionals" in the state prison systems. Now,…

Hello! .John Mandala did twenty years flat. Once out, he wrote a couple of books. One of these books in particular, After Prison A Way To Succeed, caught my eye. While looking to explore the book, I also learned quiet a bit about John. The book addresses ways to approach various things we need for the best chance at a successful life after incarcer…

Hi there! I think reintegration is is two things. First of all, it is overcoming adversity. Secondly, it is having reasonable expectations. Both of things are big time difficult! Whenever I find someone that has achieved these two things, I want to pick their brain for ideas. This episode takes a look at such a person. Steve Borys is such a person …

Greetings! Quick extra episode - More and more, I'm finding it more satisfying and informative to share the tidbits I've learned about the reintegration of offenders. In addition, although I receive many requests to be interviewed on the podcast, I'm not finding the guests that are beneficial to our quest. I have several topics I'd like to throw ou…

Hi there! I hope everyone is well! It has always disappointed me to see people get out of prison and go right back to their old, destructive behaviors. Frankly, I think for some of us it's really easy to fall back into that trap . I haven't personally had to deal with that however and I think, for me, it comes from prison and parole being a punitiv…

Welcome! My guest this week has dealt with and is dealing with a level of adversity that should give us all cause to reflect on what we are doing to deal with the adversity associated with reintegration. Terry Tucker has cancer and has been fighting it for over 9 years. His attitude and determination inspire me and when we started the interview I w…

Hello and welcome! My guest this time is Pete Cossaboon. Pete did a little bit of federal time and because of his conviction had to reinvent himself. He's done a a fantastic job of turning his adversity into a successful and satisfying way of life. Pete is a life coach and has several on-line courses which look great and I recommend you take a look…

Hello Everyone! I seldom have repeat guests on the podcast. I've always figured that once someone shares their ideas with us it's time to move on and see what else we can learn. Despite the fact that this podcast is tiny I have never had a problem getting guests. In fact, I turn down many more than I consider and eventually book. My guest this week…

Welcome! In this episode I take a look at a Harvard study on what is needed for a successful re-entry. At first it seems to be the same old stuff but there is a surprise addition to this particular study. It's something I've been saying for a long time! Check it out.... Also, I've got some information on a telephone scam that targets felons. You sh…

Welcome! Throughout the time I've been doing this podcast, I've stayed away from looking backwards. Things like prison conditions, abusive guards, sentencing, and other topics related to being in prison are not the purpose of the podcast. I want to put prison behind me and move on with life in a way that proves I am worthy of the second chance I've…

Hello! Sometimes I think it's good to focus on ourselves. We' are not being overly self-centered when we think about, consider, and execute strategies to improve "anything" about ourselves. By the word "anything" I mean aspects of our physical and mental health. As we all know, the hurdles to be jumped to achieve successful reintegration are very, …

Hello! Let's do some thinking about expectations. Is it possible to expect too much from ourselves? Is there a difference between expectations and goals? How about our expectations of other people? How do we keep our expectations reasonable? My guest on this episode, Ben Winter, helps us figure out how to manage our expectations. He wrote a book ab…

Welcome! I hope you're doing well! I've been thinking for quiet some time that doing an episode on sex addiction would probably be a good thing to do but frankly, actually going about doing it has seemed a little awkward. I've looked at guests to interview and there are some experts in recovery with professional credentials that I may still try to …

Hello! I hope everyone is safe and warm. It has been a rough week here in the Houston area! Three has been record cold, ( 11 degrees a couple of nights ago), major power outages, water outages, and empty grocery store shelves. All of this is on top of Covid. Wow! My heart goes out to people walking out of prison into this mess because while freedom…

Hello Everyone! I came across a really good article on overcoming adversity I wanted to share. Overcoming adversity is a topic this podcast will always put front and center. Ultimately, that's what getting out of prison and successfully getting what cased that to happen in our rear view window. How do we get from prison and the action that resulted…

Hello and Happy New Year! Hello everyone! I hope this year brings wonderful things to you! I wanted to spend some time talking about the National Institute of Corrections. The National Institute of Corrections is an arm of the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I'm sure they do great work...except for issues of reintegration. Inc…

Hey there! My guest on this episode is Dr. Aimee Harris Newon. Dr Aimee is a board certified integrative psychologist, author, speaker, and success coach. We tapped Aimee's knowledge on PTSD, and addiction and suggestions on how to identify and get help with those issues. Dr. Aimee can be heard on her weekly radio show in Chicago on WCPT 820 AM. Jo…

Hello everyone! My guest this week has an interesting story about about overcoming devastating adversity. I've been doing this podcast for 10 years now and it always amazes me what some people go through in their lives! More than that, I continue to see over and over again how strong we human beings are. I like to feature these people and their sto…

I hope your're coping with whatever strangeness has come your way because of our new....whatever this is. Transitioning from incarceration to the real world is challenging enough without this bizarre Covid 19 curve ball. Let's keep moving forward! Sometimes, problems we experience can have their roots in our childhood. If we can find the trauma, we…