I just finished reading Lessons from San Quentin: Everything I Needed to Know about Life I Learned in Prison by Bill Dallas and George Barna.

It’s the life story of Dallas, who, if he didn’t have it all, had most of it. A diploma from a prestigious university, a lucrative career as a high-flying real estate entrepreneur, and more than enough money to fund a life filled with sports cars, vacations in paradise, penthouses, and beautiful women.

And then it all came crashing down.

Convicted of grand theft embezzlement, the former golden boy found himself sentenced to several years at San Quentin, one of the country’s most notorious prisons and home of the worst of the worst. He thought it was the end of everything. But the real story was only just beginning.

Lessons from San Quentin chronicles Bills journey from narcissistic playboy to suicidal inmate to spiritual apprentice. Along the way, it introduces us to his unlikely mentors: San Quentin’s Lifers, who guided Bill to an unexpected relationship with God. Through a vivid and transparent recounting of stories from his prison experience, Bill shares life lessons he had to learn the hard way but that can help you triumph over even the most difficult circumstances.

“Caution! If you read this book, you might have a strange yearning for a prison experience,” says John Pearson. I have to agree.

I love this quote from the book:

“San Quentin dislodged my perception of the church as an institution and redefined it as a unified group of sinners who were so thrilled to be accepted by God that they accepted everyone who wanted to join them on the journey. Their emphasis was love, not rules; character, not attendance; spiritual fruit, not information retention.”