Cover of Living In Reality by David W. Jones

Living In Reality:

Everything I needed to Know I Learned in Prison

This book is not just for people involved in the criminal justice system. It is for everyone: Parents, teachers, and you who wonders, "What's really going on?"

There is a saying in Texas that goes, "Don’t mess with Texas." But DJ, still behind bars figured, "What are they going to do, lock me up?" In Texas, they do things big and DJ messes with Texas in a big way as he recounts his story of survival and rehabilitation in a Texas prison. A place that says its mission is to "Promote positive change in offender behavior...," but the reality may just surprise you. Resistance is futile.

DJ says, "If you want to know about a society, look at their prisons. What does the government NOT want you, "The People," to know? The short answer is everything. The long answer is in this book.

Available in paperback, e-pub, and hardcover.

Buy now at B&N Buy now at Amazon

A Closer Look

Join DJ as he gives a day-to-day account of prison life, the criminal mind, and demonstrates how harmful mass incarceration is to society. Did you know that Texas has as many people incarcerated as does the whole US Federal Prison System? Our nation, society, throws elderly into nursing homes and the people who have anti-social, criminal problems into prisons. There are two very big potholes in the road of life and they cannot just be covered up and ignored. Where did Covid-19 hit the hardest? Nursing homes and the prisons.

When DJ began on this road, he lived in a fantasy world. This book is his story of survival, not just in prison but also his childhood. There were a lot of potholes in this road and he hit every one of them. And one of them made him realize that he needed to start Living in Reality.

There is no other book that reveals the stark reality of these issues. DJ shares how he changed despite the prison’s anti-rehabilitation practices. He delves into his development of criminal thinking, and warns parents of today that if they are not careful, they may be raising future criminals. DJ touches on all hot topics of today, i.e., LGBT, Identity Crises, #metoomovement, criminal justice, crime, hate, racism, sexual assaults, mass incarceration, and ex post facto laws, and he shows that the people in prison and in society, though different, are really alike.

DJ believes that we, The People, need to hit all these potholes, instead of covering them up. We may find that resistance is not always futile and that we, as a nation, need to begin Living in Reality. Everything you need to know is in this book.

One Night in Transient

An Essay

Web exclusive –— read this "slice of life" short story about prison life by the author.

Read the essay

Another Day in Paradise?

An Essay

Is America really "free"? This web exclusive essay ponders how prison life parallels life on the outside.

Read the essay

About The Author

David Jones

David Jones #1476876 has been incarcerated for 30 years and has never used a cell phone or been on the internet. When asked about Face Time and Face Book, he responds that he faces time every day and that you will always find his face in a book, or writing. He has stories on Prison Journalism Project.org. He believes that if you want to make the world a better place, that it starts with self. He has a fondness for potholes.

Picture of author David Jones