Official Review: On Jail: The Essays by David Lawrence

Post by **Anthony__** » 07 Jul 2019, 11:24

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "On Jail: The Essays" by David Lawrence.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Sometimes we experience the gravest things in life, but how we react to the situation determine who we are. David Lawrence is that man who defines his world and time. He had a passion for his gift to the extent that even his beloved wife, Lauren, cannot change him. While in prison, he experienced freedom in his mind. On Jail: The Essays is an incredible, non-fictional story about a famous boxer, rapper, and CEO of an insurance company, David Lawrence. He was given a two-year sentence for tax evasion caused by his vice presidents, Kelly and Becker. David narrates his experience in prison through this book. Did life in prison developed him or destroyed him? What happens to his relationship with his wife? These are some of the questions that purged my heart as I was perusing this book.

The book contains fifteen chapters, with each chapter describing several activities that took place in the Schuylkill Federal Prison Camp in Pennsylvania. David served for sixteen months in prison. After which he was released to serve for five months in the halfway house to complete his jail services. During the sixteen months in prison, he was able to master his environment, relates to his cellmates and Pauli, his training friend. The guy who turned down a football scholarship offer to pursue his dream of becoming a gangster. Also, David addressed issues of racism, religion, and homosexuality in prison. Although David did not dislike gays, he sees them as deviants. He believes racism is an act of hating other people's inadequacies rather than accepting them as neutral. Also, he engaged in jobs that will take less of his time like landscaping, salad prep, dish washing, supervising the milk dispenser, and cleaning the kitchen floorboards. During this period, his parents have always been supportive. His mom sends him books to read. However, his wife was less affectionate.

I admired David’s tune of writing. Also, his way of writing is simple to understand, hilarious, and intriguing. At some point, I paused and started laughing. Especially, his narration of some prisoners’ lifestyles and the description of the visitation hours. He was very subjective in his writing. I felt like I was involved in his memoir. The organization of the book is awesome. I liked how David started the introduction by introducing the reader to his five cellmates (Angelo, Tim, Spike, Billy, and Eddie). He is observant of his environment. Although he is in prison physically, his mind was not. He was anxious to get free time to develop himself by doing what he knows best - writing poems, exercising, and reading books. I also enjoyed the metaphoric expression of his opinion. I must say, he knows how to describe a person or an event. His time management in prison was awesome, and this helped him a lot.

However, the only thing I did not like about the book is the contradictory statement in Page 26 and 31 of the book. It was about David’s narration of the cleaning activities. Since the book is a memoir about the author, there should not be any confusion for the reader.

Overall, I rate On Jail: The Essays 3 out of 4 stars. I subtracted one star because the book is not well-edited. There are several typographical and punctuation errors in it. The book should earn a four-star rating after another round of proper editing. David’s lifestyle in prison is a motivation for me. Therefore, I recommend this book to adult men and women that enjoy motivational books. I believe the world around us is what we want it to be.

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On Jail: The Essays
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 10 Jul 2019, 09:56

It's too bad about the editing. I do hope the author learned something from his jail time. However, I don't think this is a book I would enjoy. Thanks for the review, though.

Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 10 Jul 2019, 13:26

Having been through the experience of having a family member in prison, I guess I would not be confused about cleaning activities. Our experience was that things could change from day to day with no warning to the prisoners.
I think it's great that the author was able to use his time in prison to his advantage, and I hope it does end up making a difference in his life.

Post by **Anthony__** » 10 Jul 2019, 18:34

esp1975 wrote: ↑10 Jul 2019, 13:26 Having been through the experience of having a family member in prison, I guess I would not be confused about cleaning activities. Our experience was that things could change from day to day with no warning to the prisoners.
I think it's great that the author was able to use his time in prison to his advantage, and I hope it does end up making a difference in his life.

Sure it did

Daniel_ · Post by **Daniel_** » 12 Jul 2019, 06:26

This is a wonderful review. I should read this book too.

Oyedeji Okikioluwa · Post by **Oyedeji Okikioluwa** » 12 Jul 2019, 07:20

I love getting connected with a book or a story-line I read, It put you in the world. I see you experience that in your review, Great review!

Helena91 · Post by **Helena91** » 12 Jul 2019, 12:04

I always like it when people share their life experiences with others. Great review!

LinaMueller · Post by **LinaMueller** » 16 Jul 2019, 07:00

The premise of this book is great. Spending time in jail can be a deeply traumatizing experience. Amazing review, Anthony. Congrats.

Letora · Post by **Letora** » 16 Jul 2019, 07:37

I'm not sure David is a character I would enjoy reading about. I would be interested in the experiences of the jail though. Thank you for your review!

Enochkale777 · Post by **Enochkale777** » 23 Oct 2019, 15:06

This book will be expository, especially to people who have not seen anything positive in Prisons. "Time management" is a strong point I am going to learn from this book. Love when a book solves my problems.