Learning to Live: James' Story
From: Long Haul Productions
Series: Waiting it Out Series
Length: 28:47
- Playing
- Learning to Live: James' Story
- From
- Long Haul Productions
"Learning to Live: James' Story" is the story of an ex-felon's transition from prison to the free world. James, who narrates, is 38 and has been in and out of prison all his adult life. After completing a seven-year prison term for burglary, James comes to live at St. Leonard's halfway house for ex-offenders on Chicago's West side. Over three months, James goes through a rigorous education process that includes job training, drug counseling and twelve-step support meetings. His recovery is tested when his eighteen-year-old son, whom he hadn't seen in fourteen years, is arrested on a drug charge. After landing his "dream job" in customer service for a cable company, James leaves the halfway house having begun to "learn how to live."
"Learning to Live: James' Story" won the Edward R. Murrow Award; the Third Coast International Audio Festival Public Service Award; and the 2002 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award. Judges in the latter competition called it "a tightly straightforward report that skillfully wove actuality and narration, James telling his story as only he could. It was clear, concise and remarkably comprehensive."
The story was originally broadcast on Chicago Public Radio and All Things Considered in 2001.
More from Long Haul Productions
Mom's Good Move II
(10:52)
From: Long Haul Productions
An update of the Long Haul Production's series "Mom's Good Move."
Life on the Outside
(29:33)
From: Long Haul Productions
Two mentally ill and homeless repeat offenders attempt to break the cycle -- one that for years has spun from jail, to psychiatric hospitals, to the streets, and back to jail ...
Mom's Good Move
(37:09)
From: Long Haul Productions
Peg Collison documents her move from San Mateo, California - where she'd lived for almost 35 years - to a retirement community in Davis, California (Winner: Clarion Award; ...
When All Else Fails
(21:19)
From: Long Haul Productions
"When All Else Fails" is a first-person account of a man undergoing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), formerly known as electroshock (Award Winner: National Mental Health ...
Huntsville Prison Blues
(09:32)
From: Long Haul Productions
Every day, more than 150 men are processed, paroled and released from the Walls Unit in Hunstville, Texas, a small conservative town home to nine state prisons. "Huntsville ...
A Danger to Self and Others
(28:55)
From: Long Haul Productions
"A Danger to Self or Others" documents everyday life inside the Chicago Cook County Jail's Mental Health Division - the largest provider of mental health services in the ...
Hogwash
(41:04)
From: Long Haul Productions
The story of what happened when the state of Michigan outlawed the possession of Russian Boar.
Life Without Parole: The Case of Charles Lewis, Jr
(17:14)
From: Long Haul Productions
The anatomy of a sentencing hearing for a juvenile in Michigan facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. Charles Lewis, Jr was 13 when he took part in a ...
Oh Coqui!
(25:06)
From: Long Haul Productions
The Coqui, a tiny, but very vociferous tree frog, is the national symbol of Puerto Rico, beloved in folklore and in song. But while the coqui’s lusty “croak” is a beloved ...
The Tower
(07:44)
From: Long Haul Productions
Producers Elizabeth Meister and Dan Collison of Long Haul Productions journeyed to Baudette, MN to find out just how 370 songbirds ended up in a freezer at the Field ...
Related Pieces
Piece Description
"Learning to Live: James' Story" is the story of an ex-felon's transition from prison to the free world. James, who narrates, is 38 and has been in and out of prison all his adult life. After completing a seven-year prison term for burglary, James comes to live at St. Leonard's halfway house for ex-offenders on Chicago's West side. Over three months, James goes through a rigorous education process that includes job training, drug counseling and twelve-step support meetings. His recovery is tested when his eighteen-year-old son, whom he hadn't seen in fourteen years, is arrested on a drug charge. After landing his "dream job" in customer service for a cable company, James leaves the halfway house having begun to "learn how to live." "Learning to Live: James' Story" won the Edward R. Murrow Award; the Third Coast International Audio Festival Public Service Award; and the 2002 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award. Judges in the latter competition called it "a tightly straightforward report that skillfully wove actuality and narration, James telling his story as only he could. It was clear, concise and remarkably comprehensive." The story was originally broadcast on Chicago Public Radio and All Things Considered in 2001.
Broadcast History
The story was originally broadcast on Chicago Public Radio and All Things Considered in 2001.
Transcript
HOST INTRO:
The United States holds a peculiar distinction of housing the world's largest prison population. There are now more than two million men and women behind bars in America. Of course, very few inmates serve life sentance. Most get released...and when they do they face the difficult transition from prison to the free world. If they're going to suceed in remaining free, they often have to learn new ways to live and to live and to unlearn the old ways. Many walk out of prison with just a bus ticket and nowhere in particular to go. Today we have the story of an ex-offender who is trying to chart a new course for himself. Learning to Live: James' Story was produced by Dan Collison.
Tape
Learning to Live: James' Story was produced by Dan Collison for Long Haul Productions in association with Chicago Public Radio.
Read the full transcript
Related Website
Of 7 purchasers of this piece...
- 4 also bought:
- 4 also bought:
Jeff's Diary: Halfrican (35:20) - 4 also bought:
Haunted Cabin (19:52) - 4 also bought:
HV013- Crossing Borders (54:00) - 4 also bought:
Cell Phone Santa (04:23)
