The Marshall Project

After Prison, I Became a Better Dad

“Even when a parent has been part of a child’s pain, that parent’s love can still be the antidote.”

Editor’s note: This week, we’re running a special Life Inside series about fathers and incarceration. Read the previous essays about next-cell neighbors, dancing in the prison gym, a surprise meeting and a friend who became family.

When I was in prison, I was so incredibly desperate to be with my children.

Life Inside Perspectives from those who work and live in the criminal justice system. Related Stories

I’d lie in bed at night, and remember how happy my older daughter was at her graduation from Head Start, and how, when she recognized me in the crowd, she ran over and jumped in my arms. I’d remember when my younger daughter was changing from a baby into a toddler and we’d go for walks down our street. She would grab my pinky, and we’d walk at a turtle’s crawl, and when we’d pass the house with the dog in the backyard, she held my hand

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Marshall Project

The Marshall Project10 min read
Superpredator
Twenty-five years ago, the media invented a phrase: “superpredator.” The time for reckoning is overdue.
The Marshall Project4 min read
A Pacifist's Plan to Survive the Violent World of Prison
Before I even open my eyes I am reminded of where I am, by the yelling and smell of sweat in the dormitory, the hardness of the metal bunk beneath my four-inch thick mattress, the fluorescent lights burning through my eyelids, my anxiety. When I do
The Marshall Project6 min readCrime & Violence
Think Private Prison Companies Are Going Away Under Biden? They Have Other Plans
CoreCivic and GEO Group have been shifting away from prisons toward other government contracts, like office space and immigration detention.

Related Books & Audiobooks