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Camerado, I Give You My Hand: How a Powerful Lawyer-Turned-Priest Is Changing the Lives of Men Behind Bars
For many years Dr. David T. Link helped young men and women prepare to become lawyers. After his wife died, and at a time in his life when most people retire, Dr. Link felt called to serve the Church and to aid the men that his profession normally put behind bars, ministering healing and forgiveness to murderers, thieves, and what many would call the least of society.
This is a book about the value of human life, and about the transformative power of friendship and compassion. Meeting Father Dave gives us hope that one person can make a difference and, through successive reinterpretations of his own life's purpose, he makes the case for adding our own unique gifts to help the least of these, our brothers and sisters from all walks of life.
"Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman
Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?
This is a book about the value of human life, and about the transformative power of friendship and compassion. Meeting Father Dave gives us hope that one person can make a difference and, through successive reinterpretations of his own life's purpose, he makes the case for adding our own unique gifts to help the least of these, our brothers and sisters from all walks of life.
"Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman
Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?
- GenresBiography
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 19, 2013
(received a copy of this book through the goodreads giveaway) I was actually amazed at how the writing style of the author pulled me in. I was interested in reading this book to learn more about the subject who sounded to be an extraordinary man, but had some reservations as I was expecting it to be a slow, dry read. To my very pleasant surprise it was not the author did a great job of story telling to get the facts of Father Link's life out to readers. I greatly enjoyed how the author also understood how to create a balance between past and present,drawing bridges between the two rather then simply describing a timeline and leaving readers struggling to figure out the way in which the past formed a framework for the present and the present reinforced the ideals of the past.
November 4, 2013
I loved this book. While it is about a priest, I think the book also shows the power of a wife truly living her vocation. A great book that shines a light on the Church, and the corporal works of mercy.
February 22, 2015
This book was really good, very thought provoking. Father Dave's Crime Peace Plan makes a lot of sense, and I truly hope that the powers that be take listen. I agreed with MOST of it, and I'm sure that Father would love to hear my insights. LOL
Ms. Zagrans is a gifted author. Not sure why it took me so long to read this one, but I'm looking forward to the next one!
Ms. Zagrans is a gifted author. Not sure why it took me so long to read this one, but I'm looking forward to the next one!
September 15, 2013
A must read book. Hard to believe a lawyer could give up everything, but, he gives up nothing. He gains more than wealth .
October 10, 2019
Bravo! Camerado Gives Hope To All Incarcerated
Camerado is a gripping and insightful story about one man’s journey into the frightening world of convicts and shows us that we should not fear them because they are humans just like us. There but for the grace of God go the rest of us and we must forgive their mistakes and help them return to our communities and live meaningful lives.
Camerado is a gripping and insightful story about one man’s journey into the frightening world of convicts and shows us that we should not fear them because they are humans just like us. There but for the grace of God go the rest of us and we must forgive their mistakes and help them return to our communities and live meaningful lives.
August 12, 2019
Wow. This man became one of my heroes. A lawyer, priest, and academic who exemplifies the highest ethical standards.
His Crime Peace Plan in the back of the book makes sense, and I encourage everyone to read it carefully and think.
One of the 5 most important books that I have ever read. I cannot recommend it enough. Thank you, Father Dave.
His Crime Peace Plan in the back of the book makes sense, and I encourage everyone to read it carefully and think.
One of the 5 most important books that I have ever read. I cannot recommend it enough. Thank you, Father Dave.
April 30, 2022
Excellent book about a family man, lawyer Dean of Nore Adam e Law School who becomes a priest after his wife dies. Takes place mostly at iIndiana State Prison. A powerful personality
November 8, 2013
“Camerado, I Give You My Hand" by Maura Poston Zagrans, is an inspiring example of a man whose life was a series of callings. Father Dave’s response to those callings not only served others, but made a difference and inspired others to serve too.
I am not one who generally reads biographies, but I was intrigued by Father Dave. I wanted to know what leads a man to become a Catholic priest at an age when priests typically retire.
The book is more than a biography of an extraordinary individual, and Father Dave, is extraordinary. It is also a history lesson on civil rights and social justice and a reminder of what the law is meant to do. Father Dave approached his teaching, his service and his profession from the belief that “law is a noble profession, here to resolve, not create conflict" (pg. 97). Father Dave inspired Notre Dame Law School while serving the oppressed and homeless.
Father Dave’s story demonstrates what it means to answer God’s call so serve his people. Working in a homeless shelter, serving meals was not enough for this South Bend, Indiana lawyer, professor and family man. He envisioned a place where the homeless could receive not only a meal and a bed for the night, but help in breaking the cycle of homelessness. This vision was realized in the founding of the Center for Homeless in South Bend, Indiana.
Not satisfied with serving the homeless, Father Dave began serving the prison population and in so doing, earned the respect and admiration of hardened criminals. Father Dave, did not see these men as a prison population, instead he saw them as individuals who were prisoners. His approach allowed him to see these men on a deeper and spiritual level.
The Ms. Zagrans also met with and interviewed many of the people Father Dave helped and shared their stories in the book. The voices of some of the prisoners influenced by Father Dave will touch you and inspire you. You will see how any one of us could have, given the right set of circumstances, ended up in a prison too.
His work in the prison system inspired Father Dave to write a “Crime Peace Plan” to address the many flaws in the criminal justice system. Given his record of service and his experience working with a prison population, and in light of the overpopulation of prisons and jails, we would do well as a society to heed his advice.
Father Dave has done more in one life than would have ever been expected. "After reaching some pinnacle of achievement, Dave would be filled with a sense of restlessness and would pick up the banner of a new cause" (page 6). Most of us when we get restless, eat out of boredom, or shop or just sit in front of the TV, clicking through the channels, trying to figure out what to do. Instead Father Dave became a priest at 71 years of age, but was a servant of God long before he was ordained.
He developed the Crime peace plan to “save money, restore lives, and rescue the criminal justice system by turning it ‘home’ to its original purpose, which is not to punish but to heal” (page xiii).
A wonderful, well-written book, I can’t recommend it enough. Ms. Zagran shares Father Dave’s story and educates the readers on the deeper issues of homelessness and prisons in a positive and hopeful manner without watering the issues down. I especially enjoyed reading the stories and poems by some of the prisoners impacted by Father Dave’s ministry. So often when we read about people sentenced to prison, we think of them as criminals who deserve the punishment and stop seeing them as people who have their own stories. They might deserve the punishment but that does not stop making them human.
Want to be inspired in your own life and in serving others? Then read “Camerado, I Give You My Hand by Maura Poston Zagrans.”
For more information go to http://www.imagecatholicbooks.com/boo...
I am not one who generally reads biographies, but I was intrigued by Father Dave. I wanted to know what leads a man to become a Catholic priest at an age when priests typically retire.
The book is more than a biography of an extraordinary individual, and Father Dave, is extraordinary. It is also a history lesson on civil rights and social justice and a reminder of what the law is meant to do. Father Dave approached his teaching, his service and his profession from the belief that “law is a noble profession, here to resolve, not create conflict" (pg. 97). Father Dave inspired Notre Dame Law School while serving the oppressed and homeless.
Father Dave’s story demonstrates what it means to answer God’s call so serve his people. Working in a homeless shelter, serving meals was not enough for this South Bend, Indiana lawyer, professor and family man. He envisioned a place where the homeless could receive not only a meal and a bed for the night, but help in breaking the cycle of homelessness. This vision was realized in the founding of the Center for Homeless in South Bend, Indiana.
Not satisfied with serving the homeless, Father Dave began serving the prison population and in so doing, earned the respect and admiration of hardened criminals. Father Dave, did not see these men as a prison population, instead he saw them as individuals who were prisoners. His approach allowed him to see these men on a deeper and spiritual level.
The Ms. Zagrans also met with and interviewed many of the people Father Dave helped and shared their stories in the book. The voices of some of the prisoners influenced by Father Dave will touch you and inspire you. You will see how any one of us could have, given the right set of circumstances, ended up in a prison too.
His work in the prison system inspired Father Dave to write a “Crime Peace Plan” to address the many flaws in the criminal justice system. Given his record of service and his experience working with a prison population, and in light of the overpopulation of prisons and jails, we would do well as a society to heed his advice.
Father Dave has done more in one life than would have ever been expected. "After reaching some pinnacle of achievement, Dave would be filled with a sense of restlessness and would pick up the banner of a new cause" (page 6). Most of us when we get restless, eat out of boredom, or shop or just sit in front of the TV, clicking through the channels, trying to figure out what to do. Instead Father Dave became a priest at 71 years of age, but was a servant of God long before he was ordained.
He developed the Crime peace plan to “save money, restore lives, and rescue the criminal justice system by turning it ‘home’ to its original purpose, which is not to punish but to heal” (page xiii).
A wonderful, well-written book, I can’t recommend it enough. Ms. Zagran shares Father Dave’s story and educates the readers on the deeper issues of homelessness and prisons in a positive and hopeful manner without watering the issues down. I especially enjoyed reading the stories and poems by some of the prisoners impacted by Father Dave’s ministry. So often when we read about people sentenced to prison, we think of them as criminals who deserve the punishment and stop seeing them as people who have their own stories. They might deserve the punishment but that does not stop making them human.
Want to be inspired in your own life and in serving others? Then read “Camerado, I Give You My Hand by Maura Poston Zagrans.”
For more information go to http://www.imagecatholicbooks.com/boo...
March 9, 2017
He is and extraordinary man and a true inspiration. I just didn't feel the book did this important story justice.
September 4, 2013
An insightful and inspirational tale of one man's call to arms, as it were, in the fight against disposing of those who have turned away from society. David Link was a man much like every other man you know, and functioned as a lawyer, helping us to remove the unwanted from sight. As he aged, and after he had lost his wife, he became aware of another calling: that of priest. In this new role, he has become friend and mentor to hundreds behind bars who require little more than understanding, forgiveness and that all too seldom commodity: unconditional love. His personal selflessness, even moderated by his own humanity, is relayed by the author not as a how-to, or even an elevation of Link's own character as a man above all others. This is a tale of one man's journey through love and salvation. This book easily serves as an inspiration to the rest of us, who through faith in religion or just simply faith in each other, could achieve that same sort of brotherhood with the rest of humanity.
January 8, 2014
This is a wonderfully inspirational book about a graduate of our seminary (Sacred Heart School of Theology) and the way he is bringing the love of Christ to a group of people we marginalize as a society, those who are incarcerated. An easy read, but one that challenges us to think about virtue, justice, and rehabilitation in new ways.
Read
August 2, 2014After hearing Dave Link speak at a conference talking about the need for restorative justice it was thoroughly encouraging to read this biography outlining the efforts, initiatives, stories and people that have consumed a life spanning roles from professor to dean of notre dame law to homeless centre coordinator to prison minister.
March 15, 2015
This book was easy to read, enjoyable, instructive, motivational and well written. It is always good to be reminded of what is important and see an example of someone who does things the right way. No matter what you do with your life, these lessons can be applied almost everywhere.
Want to read
June 9, 2013This book is about my friend Teran's dad!!
January 18, 2014
Inspiring true story of a man doing God's work. Every American should read and digest this book. There are lessons in compassion and responsibility for everyone.
April 21, 2016
Great book about service and learning. I loved the inspirational story of this special man, who has taken it upon himself to help out his community and state. Great read.
January 1, 2017
A gift from a Nun friend. Very compelling and evidence as to how we should be treating those behind bars.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews