The memoir of a man who spent 17 years in prison after being convicted of armed robbery and attempted murder. The book is an in-depth psychological look at the roots of violence, the experience of prison, and the complex struggle for insight, healing, and remorse.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
Can a man return from an exile of his own making? Can he learn to understand what he has done, and why? In a Dark Time is the powerful story of a prisoner's struggle to come to terms with himself and his crimes.
What people are saying:
"It is rare to learn something new and useful about a subject so explored. But the brilliance of In a Dark Time is that a soul is revealed. The book is perhaps the only work of its kind to reveal a life in its entirety, spoken without editorial or social commentary, almost an anti-heroic Shakespearean monologue that brings us to our knees with its force." - Suzanne E. Berger, author of the memoir Horizontal Woman
"I had the good fortune, as a prison teacher, to watch Dwight Harrison search and struggle to come to terms with his past. I used to tell him that the world was waiting for a modern version of Dostoevsky's prison classic, Notes from the House of the Dead. Well, here it is." - Christopher Lydon, broadcast journalist
"In a Dark Time is engrossing, thought-provoking, and extremely well-written. Its authentic, focused narrative will be of interest to anyone who likes a good story; it will also be of particular value to people practicing or teaching in the fields of public policy, child development, psychology, and criminology." - Jody Lewen, Director of the Prison University Project and Patten University at San Quentin
About the Author
Born in North Carolina, Dwight Harrison spent almost 17 years in Massachusetts prisons. He has spoken about his experiences to groups of lawmakers, university students, and other audiences.
Susannah Sheffer's previous books include A Life Worth Living and A Sense of Self, and her essays and poems have appeared in numerous magazines and journals. She writes frequently about both prison issues and victims' issues.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wrestling with life's demons...and finding hope,
By Young Librarian (Philadelphia, PA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In A Dark Time: A Prisoner's Struggle For Healing And Change (Paperback)
Rich, haunting and vividly evoked, this is a memoir of losing freedom and winning it back -- one agonizing step at a time. From the spare details of a painful North Carolina boyhood emerges a furiously angry man-child, whose fast, reckless scramble for adulthood and safety sends him on a collision course with morality and the law. Barely 21, he commits a terrible crime. Sentence: 28 years.
"In a dark time, the eye begins to see" says the epigraph. Prison is indeed a dark time; the book is unflinching in its honest portrayal of Harrison's initial rage (nicknamed "Rebel" for his Southern accent, he more than lives up to the word's other meaning). Only gradually does he begin to notice, and eventually accept, the helping hands of friends and mentors reaching out in the darkness. Read this book if you love thoughtful, deeply psychological memoirs, if you're fascinated by the strange details of prison life (the section on how to make your own coffee is priceless), if you want to know how a boy becomes a criminal before he becomes a man. Read this book to witness first the tragedy of a devastating slide downward and then the remarkable, slow, slippery climb back to humanity.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Testimony to What the Human Spirit Can Endure,
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This review is from: In A Dark Time: A Prisoner's Struggle For Healing And Change (Paperback)
These authors have such an amazing way of conveying emotions and the healing process. It is so powerful and touches such a deep part of the soul. In a Dark Time left me feeling as if I know this man and could feel his pain and then his rediscovery and growth. The story was so gripping that I couldn't shake it; to have pulled oneself back from being so far gone is such a testimony to what the human soul is capable of. The book made me see that being a victim, and victimizing others, is much more complicated than I had thought. It's not always black and white. It is difficult to convey the effect that this book has had on me, but I wholeheartedly recommend it and urge others to read it.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book I've read in years.,
By
This review is from: In A Dark Time: A Prisoner's Struggle For Healing And Change (Paperback)
This is a book that is so powerful and deeply soulful that it is not forgettable. "In a Dark Time: A Prisoner's (Dwight Harrison) Struggle for Healing and Change" is a good story, extremely well written and profoundly moving, it is difficult to put down as we must know what happens next to Mr. Harrison. This book brings us into a world that is unknown to most of us, but somehow it is not entirely unfamiliar. Though the story focuses on one man, it's beautiful narrative and lack of commentary lead me to hear the story in such way that it was as much about society and our effects on each other as it was about Dwight Harrison. The only disappointing thing about this book is that it ended.
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