Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones

by Hill Harper

A compelling, important addition to Hill Harper’s bestselling series, inspired by the numerous young inmates who write to him seeking guidance

After the publication of the bestselling Letters to a Young Brother, accomplished actor and speaker Hill Harper began to receive an increasing number of moving letters from inmates who yearned for a connection with a successful role model. With disturbing statistics on African-American incarceration on his mind (one in six black men were incarcerated as of 2001, and one in three can now expect to go to prison some time in their lifetimes), Harper set out to address the specific needs of inmates.

A powerful message from the heart, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother provides advice and inspiration in the face of despair along with encouraging words for restoring a sense of self-worth. As the founder of Manifest Your Destiny, a nonprofit outreach program for at-risk teens, Harper has seen firsthand the transformative effect of mentorship and the power of a positive role model. This latest addition to Hill Harper’s Letters series delivers visionary, compassionate responses to the real-life circumstances of inmates. As with the other Letters books, Harper includes moving contributions from top educators, activists, thought leaders, and entertainers. Uplifting and insightful, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother provides the hope and inspiration inmates and their families need.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Inspirational

499 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2013

About the author

Francis Harper, known professionally as Hill Harper, is an American film, television and stage actor, and author. An alumnus of Harvard Law School, he is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on the CBS drama television series CSI: NY.

Reviews

[Joshua Kong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in county jail after I picked it up off the book cart and it was one of the most memorable books I read while in county. The book is written in a unique format where it is a collection of letters that the author, Hill Harper, writes to a young black man who is incarcerated and covers a period of time from the mans time in county, prison, and eventual release. I read the book during a dark time and the empathy and wisdom that Hill Harper pours out to a man he had no familial or social obligation to moved me thoroughly. There were many times I felt as though the author was speaking directly to me. While the ideas and concepts Harper speaks on are not exactly brand new, he is able to write in such a way that feels personal and caring such that you begin to understand and appreciate the truth of what he try’s to get across. Included is also letters from prominent people that contain words of encouragement and wisdom for the man he is writing to, even a little poem that I remember being a funny yet unflinching condemnation of the negative black stereotypes that young black people subscribe to unknowingly. This book sparked a ongoing conversation with other inmates that I would trade books with even leading to many hours of discussion that I will never forget. The single copy that was in the pod made its rounds and was passed along carefully by myself and another inmate who valued the book as much as I did. We would even copy down al the quotes in the book and save them in our spirals. Another great thing about the book is that Harper references many other great books throughout and lists them in the bibliography which I used to order more books and read.

If you have a loved one that is incarcerated, this is a great book to lift spirits, even maybe start a journey of self-discovery and change.

[Jasmine Holloman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Hill Harper's books for he is such a positive role model for men and women alike. For the most part I enjoyed this book. It is more centered towards giving advice for individuals who are incarcerated and helping them transition to the real world.

Yet, it does have a lot of inspirational quotes for everyone to enjoy. At times Hill can be long-winded but overall it is a great,positive book.

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'm not an incarcerated brother, this uplifting inspirational book by the popular CSI star, narrated by Kevin R Free, is just a treat to read. Since the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement this book offers lots of great useful advice, wisdom, guidance and comfort. Mr. Harper put his heart and soul into this book trying to offer the very best, very real helping hand to all who need it, aimed at those who are incarcerated but great for anyone that needs a word of encouragement. Highly recommended.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it created a point of view from a prospective of accountability. It is not a secret that the United States incarcerates more people then everywhere else in the free world. However , this book demonstrates a different view of how families in general, play a role in the demise of a person suddenly finding themselves behind bars. The accountability piece comes in when a person does not possess sound decision making skills to overcome a bad outcome.

[Pam Sloss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I learned so much about the inmate experience from this books. It was also enlightening that someone would take the time to develop a relationship to move someone to a positive resolution. The book is written in epistolary form and includes letters from other recognizable figures as encouragement. Excellent book of motivation!!

[Colton White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hill has such a way in captivating his readers. The unusual readers and even the frequent readers. The way he does his research and really tries to reach out to a friend whom he only knew for so long through a letter. And because such a great mentor for that young man and so many others through this book. I had the pleasure of speaking with a young man in county, looking at so many years of prison. Who recommended this book to me, and it has changed me in so many ways, it is so helpful in many more, if not for the resources, then for the message in every letter. I've seen this book alone change a view point on a young man's life. And I expect it to do so for many more across the nation

[Jill Hallenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is well-written advice about coming out of prison. I'll keep all those tips in mind.

[Adrienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This hardcover read is pretty thick but as usual Hill Harper gets right to it. It saddens me that there are young black males and Hispanics locked behind bars for crimes they were falsely identified or just took the rap for stuff they didn't do. We know that most of the time, jailbirds will say that I am innocent, knowingly are not, but to read the story about a young man's letters in jail at 16 is quite heart-breaking in which Harper admits I don't know sh*t.

I strongly wonder, how can we encourage and give hope to those inmates and see them be willing to change and break the cycle altogether. Most of them cannot focus on being or thinking positively since they are in a harsh reality. But also think of Nelson Mandela who was in jail for 20+ years and made sure he kept his mind intact, but didn't care what they tried to do to his body. We do not realize how strong our minds can be or how weak they are, and fragile a mind can be to the point of no return, or get a great return.

This book is an eye-opener and things to consider in your own life as a whole. (Just started and definitely thought-provoking and affirmations to make change in your own walk).

Micro-quits was something to bite on for sure; even though he uses the brother's incarceration as an excuse to stop something and want to move to something else, I've realized we (and me) do this! I guess we feel it's not bringing us to our ultimate goal. But it also had me reanalyze, why do we even start something to only quit and then have a rational reason or excuse when we do.

Overall, this book is hard to rate since there are so many nuggets to take from it and learn as a whole. I also heard Hill Harper say on Queen Latifah show in the brief moments on there that how hard it was to get this book in print! I can believe that...

3.25 stars

Adrienna Turner, author of "The Day Begins with Christ" and "God is in the Equation" (total of 10 books).
www.dream4more.org

[Dysmonia Kuiper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have read the title of this book more carefully before I began reading, because I was expecting to hear more from inmates than the author. Hill Harper, Harvard Law graduate, actor, humanitarian, and all-around pompous advice-giver, certainly has a lot to say about a system in which he has never been locked up. But, after the first quarter of the book or so, I warmed up to him. Although I found him a bit pedantic throughout, he truly does seem to care about the disenfranchisement of prisoners in this country. He has good statistics and other information, and he certainly does worlds to help the particular inmate with whom he is corresponding in the book. Harper's overall attitude toward life is healthy and positive. I began to find reading his words comforting. He's definitely someone that anyone, inmate or not, would be lucky to have in his/her corner. I applaud him for bringing the issues of the prison industrial complex to the fore.

Harper puts quotes at the beginning of each chapter/letter, and there was one in particular I enjoyed:

"Drug misuse is not a disease, it is a decision, like the decision to step out in front of a moving car. You would call that not a disease, but an error in judgment." -- Philip K. Dick

As someone who used to overdrink/was a drunk/was an alcoholic/whatever, I appreciate this line of thinking. I never believed in the AA disease model. I didn't have a motor control problem; therefore, I could choose not to drink. And I didn't contract "alcoholism" from a bacteria, or a virus, and it didn't make me powerless. It was a negative coping mechanism I chose to use for a time. Not much more to it than that.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Harper's appeal to Angela Davis's nutty "prison-industrial complex" is unfortunate and unnecessary for the context of this work, thankfully all absurdist philosophies lose most of their power the moment practicality becomes the primary focus, for there's no meaningful relationship to reality in ridiculous ideas. Harper's appeal to Davis's worldview is not completely harmless: African-American men have for generations used conspiracies to explain their condition, which deflects their personal responsibility for the actual pathologies in their culture.

In any case, I don't know that I've ever read a book with more practical application. Harper has done a masterful job equipping those who want to live, to change. And while incarcerated individuals are the target audience, all of his advice is applicable to anyone facing great obstacles, but who want a better life. No doubt, if practiced, Harper's recipe for life will take a person to a new existence.

I admire Hill Harper, and I hope he continues his adventure to positively change lives.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt that Hill Harper's book, "Letter to an Incarcerated Brother" was much needed not only for brothers that are incarcerated but to the ones that may be headed down a path of destruction. As Hill corresponded with this man who remains nameless, his patience and free will to help had been tested. There are letters provided by others such as celebrities, musicians, activists, etc., who offered some really helpful advice in pulling this man out of the depth of his murky world of self-destruction to living a life of freedom while serving his time and long after he'd been released. This book was very intriguing as Hill starts out on faith that gradually turned into victory that built a bond between the two of them. Hill can be considered Godsend as he allowed God to work through him to help others in need. Although he (Hill) has been put through many test he continued to provide intelligent and solid advice and critical information throughout the duration of this man's period of being incarcerated. This is definitely a book I'd recommend to others.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW WITH MR HILL HARPER ON AUTHORLINK http://authorlink.com/interview/lette...

With the harrowing statistics on African-American incarceration as his focus, the remarkable Hill Harper set out to address the needs of these young people with a positive and hands-on approach.

Hill Harper’s critically acclaimed, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother is the final instalment in a series of inspirational books to enable and uplift oppressed members of the global community.

However, this book is not only for those readers behind prison bars, but for people everywhere who have created emotional prisons in their day to day lives. This is a ground-breaking, liberating read.

CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW WITH MR HILL HARPER ON AUTHORLINK http://authorlink.com/interview/lette...

[Kevin Eleven · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Letters to an Incarcerated Brother, Hill Harper mentors a young imprisoned father who's life has been derailed due to his unfortunate incarceration. Throughout their first few letters, Hill writes from a place of guilt, sympathy and as well as awkwardness, as he feels awful for not being able to relate to the living conditions of this prison inmate. However, over time, the two develop an outstanding relationship as Hill becomes a viable mentor to this young incarcerated brother, helping him improve his attitude, life choices and education level throughout the process. The book is one of many in Hill Harper's "Letters" series, furthermore, this series of letters may just happen to be the most important one yet as Hill extends a helping hand to a young man that is in dire need of assistance to get his life back on track, but is in jeopardy of being swallowed whole by the prison industrial complex system.

[Adrienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see I read this back in March/April and took about a week to read last time.

This time I am re-reading for B Book Club at work to have those deep, personal, and hard conversations. I cannot wait to see what piques at these males interest and take on the book overall. I am seeing those golden-nuggets again! Inspiration. Positivity. Purpose.

[Carolyn Blocka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book almost brought tears to my eyes.

I have been interested in the prison system and the rehabilitation of the incarcerated into society in Canada and the United States for many years dating back to university. This book was very thought provoking especially as the reader gets real glimpses as to the mental state of the "incarcerated brother" in which Hill Harper corresponds with over a number of years.

Much of the advice Hill Harper gives the incarcerated inmate is advice many of us can use in our lives. He is truly supportive and without judgment and encourages the incarcerated to own up to his life.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been to prison, nor am I male but I still found this book intriguing to read. I have enjoyed all of Hill Harper's book, he writes for all targeted readers and keeps you engaged throughout the book. I recommend this book to anyone that is currently incarcerated or has been released prison, as it will give you hope that you can still live a normal life outside of prison, and that you can learn from your past mistakes. It also includes guides that you can follow while you are waiting for an appeal or seeking resources for obtaining an education while locked up, including resources for when you are released.

[Donna Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. It is helpful not only for people in prison, or people with family members who are incarcerated, but it is a wonderful book for anyone feeling trapped by their circumstances and looking for a way to effect a change. Harper has tons of advise - practical tips on making the most out of the time spent in or on the way out of prison. However, he has encouraging letters from any number of people, and helpful expressions and quotes from Malcolm X to an ancient Chinese proverb. A great "self-help" book.

[Anne Purnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. Hill is not just talking about the situation, he does something about it. What a great example. This book is for everyone not just for the incarcerated! Very inspiring, it left me wondering what role I can play to make the situation better. And a bonus he added a manual at the end.

[Richelle Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this book . I didn't think I would like it but I am finding it hard to put it down.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was too boring got through the first few pages and I fell asleep. I thought it would be inspiring but it did have some interesting info at the end

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read That Will Change Your Way Of Thinking!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am on page 13. Yes, only 13 and I had to put this book down. I'm just really thinking... This book is so deep at page 13 that I'm speechless."

[Rox · Rating 4 out of 5]

honest and open. so thought provoking and full of depth. great read!