Perspective

Damien writes his biography as well as the story of his conviction, time in prison, and release from jail from the first person point of view. He tells his story as if he is talking to a friend. In fact, at one point he addresses his reader directly and refers to his reader as a friend. His story, of course, is reliable in that it tells his view of his life and time in prison. Echols doesn't discuss the details of his trial or even a lot of the horrors that he must have experienced in jail, but instead focuses on the religious journey that he takes while in jail. He also spends a good deal of time writing about what he did and how hard he had to work to stay positive and relatively healthy while in jail.

Damien comes from a poor family. He has also...