Shakespeare Saved My Life
A female professor, a super maximum security prisoner, and how Shakespeare saved them both
Shakespeare professor and prison volunteer Laura Bates thought she had seen it all. That is, until she decided to teach Shakespeare in a place the bard had never been before--supermax solitary confinement.
In this unwelcoming place, surrounded by inmates known as the worst of the worst, is Larry Newton. A convicted murderer with several escape attempts under his belt and a brilliantly agile mind on his shoulders, Larry was trying to break out of prison at the same time Laura was fighting to get her program started behind bars.
A testament to the power of literature, Shakespeare Saved My Life is a remarkable memoir. Fans of Orange is the New Black (Piper Kerman), A Place to Stand (Jimmy Baca) and I Couldn't Help Myself (Wally Lamb) will be be inspired by the story of the most unlikely friendship, one bonded by Shakespeare and lasting years--a friendship that would, in the end, save more than one life.
What readers are saying about Shakespeare Saved My Life:
"I was tremendously moved by both the potential impact of Shakespeare and learning on human beings and the story of this one man."
"This is one of the most extraordinary books I've ever read."
"I have never read a book that touched me as much as this memoir."
"It is a challenging and remarkable story."
"I loved this book so much. It changed my life."
What reviewers are saying about Shakespeare Saved My Life:
"You don't have to be a William Shakespeare fan, a prisoner, or a prison reformer to appreciate this uplifting book. "Shakespeare Saved My Life" also reveals many important truths ... about the meaning of empathy in our dealings with others"--Finger Lake Times
"Shakespeare Saved My Life touches on the search for meaning in life, the struggles that complicate the path to triumph and the salvation that can be found in literature's great works ... An inspiring account."--Shelf Awareness
"Opening the mind's prison proves enormously gratifying, not to mention effective ... brave, groundbreaking work"--Publishers Weekly
"An eye-opening study reiterating the perennial power of books, self-discipline, and the Bard of Avon."--Kirkus
"A powerful testament to how Shakespeare continues to speak to contemporary readers in all sorts of circumstances."--Booklist
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Community Reviews
Laura Bates, an English professor at Indiana State University, recounts her 'volunteer' job teaching Shakespeare to maximum security prisoners and the life-changing impact the experience had not just on her life, but that of Larry Newton.
Laura Bates recounts:
In the twenty years I had spent working as a volunteer and as an instructor in minimum- and maximum-security prisons in Chicago and in Indiana, I had never met an inmate who scared me—until Newton.
Larry Newton - who later becomes her star student - was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole when he was seventeen. Because of his violent tendencies, Newton spent over 10 years in solitary confinement. The most amazing part of his story is that regardless of having only a fifth grade education, Newton develops his intellect and a love of Shakespeare.
“Hey, you know what’s really cool? Here’s old boy Richard in this supermax, and he’s building a world inside of there with his thoughts. He’s trying to make his life mean something. And then here I am—it’s really cool how they mirror!—here I am, in that same little prison, trying to make my life mean something.”
Shakespeare was one of my favorite things to teach. Of the required plays to teach in high school, I think I ended up teaching Macbeth the most. My students had the occasional "WOW!" moment with the text, but nothing like the insights expressed by some of these inmates, especially Newton. But the inmates viewed the play from a different perspective than my students - that of killers.
Newton's response to Macbeth murdering the king:
The authenticity of a murderer: WOW! That is insight! The fear and confusion, the anxiety! Even if the author has not killed, he must have been exposed to that possibility. Like attempted or was at the point of trying but could not overcome those fears and great anxiety! As Mac killed Duncan, he was just in la la land! Even forgetting to leave the weapon! Man, that is just so authentic! The detail in fears, confusion, and gut-wrenching anxiety is uncanny! I regret to say that I have experience.
This was the passage that gave me chills. I spent quite a bit of time discussing this very passage with class after class, but very few understood why Macbeth forgot to plant the dagger on the guards. I knew that Shakespeare had this uncanny ability to capture the human condition (which is why his plays still resonate with us 400 years later), but this passage clinched it for me.
After spending more than ten years in supermax segregation, Larry finally has broken out of his prison. Not the prison of concrete and steel, but the prison of self-destructive ways of thinking: “the only prison that matters.”
I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book because it's not the type of nonfiction I usually choose. Sometimes you just need to get it of your own way - glad I did.
Laura Bates recounts:
In the twenty years I had spent working as a volunteer and as an instructor in minimum- and maximum-security prisons in Chicago and in Indiana, I had never met an inmate who scared me—until Newton.
Larry Newton - who later becomes her star student - was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole when he was seventeen. Because of his violent tendencies, Newton spent over 10 years in solitary confinement. The most amazing part of his story is that regardless of having only a fifth grade education, Newton develops his intellect and a love of Shakespeare.
“Hey, you know what’s really cool? Here’s old boy Richard in this supermax, and he’s building a world inside of there with his thoughts. He’s trying to make his life mean something. And then here I am—it’s really cool how they mirror!—here I am, in that same little prison, trying to make my life mean something.”
Shakespeare was one of my favorite things to teach. Of the required plays to teach in high school, I think I ended up teaching Macbeth the most. My students had the occasional "WOW!" moment with the text, but nothing like the insights expressed by some of these inmates, especially Newton. But the inmates viewed the play from a different perspective than my students - that of killers.
Newton's response to Macbeth murdering the king:
The authenticity of a murderer: WOW! That is insight! The fear and confusion, the anxiety! Even if the author has not killed, he must have been exposed to that possibility. Like attempted or was at the point of trying but could not overcome those fears and great anxiety! As Mac killed Duncan, he was just in la la land! Even forgetting to leave the weapon! Man, that is just so authentic! The detail in fears, confusion, and gut-wrenching anxiety is uncanny! I regret to say that I have experience.
This was the passage that gave me chills. I spent quite a bit of time discussing this very passage with class after class, but very few understood why Macbeth forgot to plant the dagger on the guards. I knew that Shakespeare had this uncanny ability to capture the human condition (which is why his plays still resonate with us 400 years later), but this passage clinched it for me.
After spending more than ten years in supermax segregation, Larry finally has broken out of his prison. Not the prison of concrete and steel, but the prison of self-destructive ways of thinking: “the only prison that matters.”
I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book because it's not the type of nonfiction I usually choose. Sometimes you just need to get it of your own way - glad I did.
