My Book

  Patrick M. Young, an educator, businessman, organizer and advocate who is dedicated to serving his community, has completed his new book “A Way Up”: a thought-provoking guidebook that leads people with criminal history to make better decisions and build a productive life. This will help them navigate and thrive economically in their new chapter of life. Young shares, “The first thought after any arrest is usually, how long will it take to get out? Whether in jail or prison, your sole focus is getting out. Recent statistics shows that three out of every four persons incarcerated always end up returning behind bars within the first three years of release. A large percentage of these people are from low-income communities where access to financial capital, education, and job opportunities are limited, and families end up getting stuck in a deep cycle of poverty that they find extremely difficult to break out from. Arrested for crimes often sponsored by poverty and the dire economic conditions that define them, they are taken through a criminal justice system that is far more interested in keeping them in the poverty-incarceration cycle than rehabilitating them and giving them a better chance at life. With no income and criminal history after release, they are unable to pay for food, housing, and health needs. And what happens eventually? They slip back into a life of crime, and the cycle continues. It is high time we nullified this poverty-incarceration two-feeder system. How? By dealing with the root, which is poverty. So how do you break the cycle of poverty? You may want to get out of jail or prison but are you ready to get out of poverty. How? The answers are found here in learning how to experience your own economic development post incarceration. Do you feel stuck? Are you tired of going in and out of jail? Or are you an ex-offender who has found it difficult to progress because of barriers associated with your criminal history? This book is the clear road map to creating generational wealth and living the kind of life you deserve. This book is the guide to finding a way up, not just a way out.” Published by Page Publishing, Patrick M. Young’s reflective opus is shared for others to find their way just like the author did his. This helps transform one’s thinking by showing them a way out of prison and poverty with the aid of a personal economic development plan in a world that has quickly changed in recent years. This will not only strengthen their will to survive, but also—their will to thrive. Readers who wish to experience this inspiring work can purchase “A Way Up” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.