"People have always wondered why Gary Tyler didn't become criminal, bitter, or insane. This riveting book shows why. He refused to let the system take his life, his spirit, his intelligence, his humanity. I watched Gary find mentors and then become one to many inmates. He became an actor, playwright, and director. He turned fabric into art. He eased the passage of dying men. He let nothing deter his march to justice, to freedom - and we are all the beneficiaries.
" --Wilbert Rideau, former editor of The Angolite, award-winning author of In the Place of Justice "Something in Gary Tyler's nature led him to become a man described by his attorney as 'a remarkable human being' who not only endured the torture and horror of a hell-hole designed to destroy human beings deemed 'lesser,' but become a leader, a teacher, an artist, a man who was escorted to Angola's gate at discharge by the warden who said goodbye 'with tears in his eyes.' Stitching Freedom imbues one with hope for the human race." --Mike Farrell, "BJ" from "M*A*S*H" and author of Just Call Me Mike "In my life I have had the opportunity to speak up for five men who were wrongfully convicted and watch them walk out of prison. In each case, they have taught me something about what freedom means. Gary Tyler's account of his own experience is another lesson in freedom--one we sorely need in this moment." --William J. Barber, II, author of White Poverty " Stitching Freedom is both compelling and incisive in its ability to bring the reader in real close. This is not only a story of great courage and humility, but of an unparalleled patience fueled by a fiery zeal to NOT BE BROKEN by the conditions of institutional injustice.
Gary Tyler had to live with his certain innocence and his commitment to freedom, methodically, one day at a time. for 15,180 days. His resilience was contagious." --Kate Capshaw, Artist, Actor, and co-founder of the Hearthland Foundation "As moving and important a book as I have read in eons. Tyler's struggle to hold onto his humanity and emerge battered but triumphant is a powerful story unto itself, but that's not why people should read this book. Tyler's journey urgently matters given the ways that dehumanizing prisoners and debasing constitutional due process have become a central feature of US politics. His story acts as a bracing condemnation of an administration off the rails; an administration that regularly mocks and debases those trapped in a deeply racist prison industrial complex. Tyler and his co-author Ellen Bravo have gifted us all a chance to look in the mirror.
May we be brave enough to open our eyes." --Dave Zirin, author of The Kaepernick Effect.