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In The Buddhist on Death Row, David Sheff explores the transformation of Jarvis Jay Masters, a renowned Buddhist thinker and inmate on death row at San Quentin State Prison. With uncanny clarity, Sheff describes Masters’s gradual transformation from a man consumed by violence to one who has helped those around him find meaning and peace in their lives.
Journalist David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction and the follow-up Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy. His other books include Game Over, about the videogame industry, China Down, about China’s internet revolution, and now The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place.
The GRIP Program (formerly Insight-Out) transforms violence and suffering into learning and healing. Its year-long program guides life-sentenced, violent offenders, through a deeply transformative journey, wherein they effectively “leave prison before they get out.” GRIP recognizes freedom as a state of mind/heart not just a geographical fact, such as being on the other side of the prison gate. In the last 8 years 273 graduates of the GRIP program were released from prison by the Parole Board; only 1 came back to prison.