“The Master Plan” Book Review
The Master Plan opens on the moments before the author, Chris Wilson, takes the only opportunity he will have to advocate for his freedom from a life long prison sentence. He describes the trip from his prison cell to the witness stand methodically, recalling each interaction with guards and prisoners verbatim, relaying the questions that coursed through his mind along the way. The stakes and anxiety of this pivotal event are extraordinary. Even so, the author’s honest, uncomplicated reporting of his internal and external circumstances grounds the re-telling. As we are led through Chris’s life growing up amidst the American drug war and within the prison system The Master Plan emerges as his persistent, grounded doctrine for self-determination and forgiveness. His struggles for freedom, respect and self-acceptance are unimpeachable arguments for a revolution in how we understand institutional punishment and personal transformation in America.