Being Free

Corey Astin is a lawyer headed to prison for six years. He accepts that he did wrong and hopes to make amends, but he will need direction and protection. Because of the nature of his offense, other inmates are quick to see him as a target. County jail was only a small taste of the brutal conditions he will face in the maximum-security state prison. He arrives there in shackles during the freezing Maine winter, into a cell block with poor heating, knowing just one man from his earlier time in jail, Carl.

Soon Corey meets Dalton, who becomes his mentor and teaches him a distinctive way of perceiving and working with energy known as The Choice. Being selected is a significant honor, though Corey does not yet recognize it. He is only starting to grasp the magical world that exists within those who are able to bring it into being.

Corey narrates in the first person, speaking directly to the reader as if they were beside him, sharing his worries and his most personal feelings. The story follows his experience in prison and his developing friendship with Dalton. This is the first installment of a private and dangerous journey into a world few have known. Partly drawn from the author's own spiritual path, the book is a magical realist tale about hope and redemption.