Redeemable: A Memoir of Darkness and Hope by Erwin James was featured on the Radio 2 Fact not Fiction Book Club on Friday 4 March.
The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK. Find out more about the non-fiction strand of the Radio 2 Book Club.
You can win 10 copies of Redeemable for your reading group – just visit our Noticeboard. We also have an exclusive extract available for you to read.
Redeemable
Born in Somerset in 1957 to itinerant Scottish parents, Erwin James lost his mother when he was seven. Shipped from home to home and subject to the whims of various caregivers after his father turned to alcohol and violence, he committed his first crime of breaking and entering when he was ten. His teenage and early adult years were spent drifting, and his petty crime turned increasingly violent, culminating in the terrible events for which he was jailed for life in 1984.
Entering prison at 27, James struggled to come to terms with the enormity of his crimes and a future without purpose or hope. Then he met Joan, a prison psychologist, who helped him to confront the painful truth of his past, and to understand how it had shaped him from such a young age. Her sessions transformed his life. Encouraged to read and to educate himself, over the next twenty years Erwin James would go on to receive a BA in History, and become a regular columnist for the Guardian.
Speaking to the very heart of the human condition, this is a book that offers no excuses – only the need to understand how we become who we become, and shows that no matter how far a person may fall, redemption is possible with the right kind of help. It is an important and timely memoir.
Selection panel review
Our reading panel from libraries and The Reading Agency strongly recommend Redeemable – here are some of their comments:
“This book has a very positive, hopeful message – that everyone, as the title says, is redeemable. It is a testament to all those working in the prison service that offer support and encouragement to people at a time in their life when they most need it.”
“I found this an enthralling book of how a damaged childhood had a profound effect on that person’s life. It made me reflect on the concept of forgiveness and if a convicted murder should be forgiven. The story is very moving and sad and I felt that the author explained honestly how he had ended up serving a life sentence. It was also a testament to the skill of trained counsellors and their role in helping individuals see their worth. Finally I felt that in certain circumstances perhaps a second chance in life is acceptable and that yes some individuals are redeemable.
About the author
Erwin James is a Guardian columnist and author. He has published two collections of essays: A Life Inside: A Prisoner’s Notebook and The Home Stretch: From Prison to Parole. A trustee of the Prison Reform Trust, he has given keynote addresses to the Royal Society in Edinburgh, the Probation Union at the Danish parliament and the Festival of Dangerous Ideas at the Sydney Opera House. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and an Honorary Master of the Open University, and is patron of a number of offender rehabilitation charities.
A Word from Erwin
“To say I’m humbled for my book to have been chosen by the Radio 2 Book Club really is an understatement – I was incredibly moved when I was told. The book was painful to write sometimes, but I just wanted to try and bring some understanding to how we become who we become. I hope I’ve managed to do that.”
Get involved
You can listen to the Radio 2 Arts Show now to hear an interview with Erwin James talking to Jonathan Ross about his book.
Have you read Redeemable? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter, or follow author Erwin James You can also post a review, see what other readers thought, or add the book to your reading list.
Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed or find out more on the Radio 2 Book Club website.
