Customer Reviews

That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book covers the author's life, from his earliest memories, to the time he walked through the doors of San Quentin as a 19-year old, and beyond that to the circumstances of his ending up on death row, with a few chapters covering his recent and current circumstances.

It is the story of a bright child that survived unbelievable neglect, briefly thrived under the care of loving foster parents, and then was pushed back once more into a system that spares few and pushes many inner city youth ever closer towards the gates of prison. It is a story of missed opportunities, misguided decisions, and wrong turns taken: by the authorities, by well-meaning family members; and by the author, who blames no one but himself. Yet it is also a tale of survival of the spirit, of new-found freedom within the walls of San Quentin, of the possibility of redemption, and of love.

Some of it is heartbreaking, especially the stories about the author's mother, a fierce and charismatic woman, who loved her children yet couldn't stop hurting herself and them. Some of the book's scenery is hard take in -- this is not the Southern California celebrated at the time in pop songs, but a parallel world of unforgiving starkness and brutality, where the wrong word or gesture could cost someone his life.

But through it all shines the author's voice, as a mature man, looking back on himself and on the stations of his journey, not with bitterness, but with compassion and, occasionally, even with a sense of humor. It's a journey worth reading about for all who are grappling with the meaning of "justice" -- no matter which side of the death penalty fence they are on.

Jarvis Jay Masters' second book, That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row, just published by HarperOne, is a moving account of Jarvis's life from boy to man. It demonstrates how a sensitive child can be shattered and framed by the system, and yet grow into an awakened spiritual peacemaker in the midst of a potentially violent prison. Jarvis's poignant story is moving and inspiring. And so is Jarvis. I have visited him in San Quentin Prison many times. When I leave, I feel I have wings, riding the currents of Jarvis's deep kindness and positivity. I KNOW he is an innocent man and I look forward to seeing our justice system set him free to fly to the heights to which he aspires.

In 1981 when 19 year old Jarvis entered San Quentin State Prison in California some of my views were naive and myopic. I erroneously believed that the foster care systems in California and our country were effectively operational and beneficial to all. Not too many years later, I learned the sad truth.

There are many ways to think about THAT BIRD HAS MY WINGS, Jarvis Masters' second book. First, don't expect to read about an angry, bitter and resentful man. Instead, the author talks to us without self-pity and blame - he takes responsibility for his actions. Jarvis takes his readers with him on a courageous journey of self-discovery.

I must agree that this book is a "testament to the human spirit". It is most definitely an inspirational account of one person's resiliency and determination. The author was not afforded the luxury of a computer or even a pen or pencil. He was required to use only the fillers from ballpoint pens. Can you imagine how many pen fillers he used and how physically uncomfortable this must have been for him? Because of Jarvis' perserverance, we are confronted with the disturbing realization of what happens to many children who are removed from their homes. How can your heart not hurt when you hear the innocent words of young Jarvis morph into that of a troubled adolescent and young adult - a person who craved only love and acceptance, first from his family and then from his peers? I cried when Jarvis was removed from his first foster home, the first place where he received unconditional love, respect and positive regard. Throughout the book I wondered what his path might have looked like if he stayed with this family. For me, Jarvis' honest account of his experiences was often difficult and frustrating to read. The foster care system that was designed to protect him did just the opposite. It failed him and continues to fail others like him in so many obvious ways. The exposes and documentaries continue to tell us what's wrong with the foster care system. When will there be the right mix of money and people to effect positive change for our youth?

Who is the audience for this well-written book? I believe THAT BIRD HAS MY WINGS should be required reading for those who are in positions to orchestrate positive change. This includes politicians, policy makers and administrators. I strongly encourage high school teachers to include this book in their curriculum. I also recommend this book for anyone who has an opportunity to influence a child's life and future. All of us can better the life of at least one child. Sometimes this responsibility cannot be left solely to parents or other relatives, teachers, health care professionals, coaches, etc. What could happen if many more of us volunteered a small amount of our time to tutor or mentor a child, or to be a Big Brother or Big Sister?

Thanks to his spiritual practice, and supportive and loving people, Jarvis Jay Masters successfully turned his life around. He seems at peace. I can imagine a day when he is out in the community, directly working to improve the future of our impressionable youth. When that day comes, he will be far, far away from his current residence at San Quentin.

Very interesting book. Enjoyed the reading and have passed it on to a friend to enjoy as well. Loved it.

After reading his book, Finding Freedom, I could hardly wait to read more about this man's adventures and growth. I was disappointed in the writing style of That Bird Has My Wings. This book does not have the raw, high energy feel that made Finding Freedom a page-turner for me, and that also gave me some understanding of what it must be like to live behind bars. I wanted to hear more about his growth in Buddhism.

This was a very good book. After reading about his childhood I can see why he ended up in prison so many times. I am so sorry he ended up on death row.

This review originally appeared in FELLOWSHIP vol. 75, NO. 10-12, Winter 2010, p.34.

For all involved in social change work in this country, especially if you are focused on our growing prison-industrial complex this book is one to read. Jarvis Jay Masters is in the category of Chicano poet and prose writer Jimmy Santiago Baca whose autobiography, A Place To Stand is one of the most powerful books I have read.
Mr. Masters is presently awaiting execution on California's death row, the largest death house in the nation. It is part of San Quentin Prison.

This book is not about guilt or innocence although after reading it you will wonder why Jarvis Jay Masters is on death row at all. I had to go on line to find out details of his case for that is not what is important to Mr. Masters. He wants to tell his story, the one that begins with his birth to an addicted mother. It is the captivating autobiography of one man now on the row. But it could be the story of so many others who are locked away rather than rehabilitated.

It is in prison while studying Buddhism that he discovers the person "I've always been: the young child who knew that his life mattered, that he could make a difference in the world, and that he was born to fly."

One can only wonder at California which would rather expend more to incarcerate its citizens than to educate them and yet fails so miserably at both. This book is an indictment of the Juvenile Justice System without ranting against it. It details the best and the worst of foster care through the eyes of the young boy Jarvis. It exposes the violence that so many of this nation's poor have to live through one day at a time. It does so through the life of one boy turned man. But Jarvis Jay Masters is not seeking our pity. His words just force us to acknowledge the violence on which our nation operates. Abu Ghraib was not an aberration; it exists in the penal institutions across this country.

Mr. Masters is a masterful storyteller. that bird has my wings is both captivating because of the humanity that comes through on every page and yet hard to read because of the honesty with which it is told. The violence is not sugar coated. It's raw and real. He and his siblings are fed by a neighbor lady who leaves food out for them. Taught to fight in reform school, he like so many other younger siblings is used by older brothers to fight in the pit against other children while bets are placed on which boy will beat the other. As Perma Chödrön has written in the book's preface, "I kept wanting things to go differently for this promising young boy, but the blunt truth is that it didn't go differently."

Through an investigator working on his murder case Jarvis Masters was introduced to meditation as a way to deal with pain and suffering. This book is the result. "It is for the young children who travelled with me through childhood that I have pried open my heart and relived memories I had suppressed in my soul's stomach - wishing never to digest them - in order to write this book." We need to travel with him.

This is a remarkable story of a transformation of a man who's personal life journey was filled with heartache and heartbreak. We will never know if this transformation would have happened if Jarvis had never gone to prison. However, all too often young people die before it does. This is a classic tale of what happens when the system fails our young people. A classic and all too common story of when anger, fear and pain goes unrecognized and thus untreated. A must read for all especially those who work with offenders. Everybody is not guilty, everybody is not innocent, but EVERYBODY has a story.

I must admit, when I picked up this book off the shelf at our local library, I almost put it back. I was worried that a memoir by an "innocent man on death row" would be self-pittying or full of pages trying to sell me on how he was wronged. I'm glad I gave it a chance. The book is wonderfully written, an honest accounting of life events that seem to have shuttled Mr. Masters into the jaws of San Quentin. Though his childhood is full of more horrors than most of us can (thankfully) imagine, the stories are not told with bitterness or anger, but with a peaceful, straightforward description that makes me want to pass this book on and take action for other children that are being raised without the compassion and nuturing that we all deserve. If you are considering this book, pick it up, read a few pages. You won't be able to put it back.

Devastatingly powerful book. My heart breaks for Jarvis and all other children mistreated in our system. So with this understanding that our juvenile justice system and foster care system are woefully broken, where do we go from here? This book compels the reader to look at the personal cost our broken system bears on the children who have suffered as wards of the state. It is a call to action for all of the children who have been abused, neglected and mistreated. I feel a moral obligation to work towards reforming the system and agree that it should be required reading for policy makers, social workers, educators and activists. Again, were do we go from here?