Cedar Tree, Inc. conducts writing workshops in men's prisons across the United States. Our approach is rooted in the belief that inmates' experiences are rich in life-changing moments and transformation can occur when the past is confronted and examined through writing.

Using inmates real life experiences and a custom-tailored curriculum and reading list created for marginalized populations, Cedar Tree, Inc. guides workshop participants through an intensive process of self-exploration and self-realization. Inmates are asked to write on critical topics—gangs, family, religion, and relationships—and challenged to delve into opposites, i.e.: violence/non-violence, drug use/sobriety, high-risk sexual behavior/safe sex, taking love/giving love. Themes like betrayal, success, disappointment, identity, support, joy, fear, hurt, pain, hope, dreams realized and derailed, are explored in-depth. Facilitators instruct participants to write stories that resonate and demonstrate that writing is a way to tap into power. Cedar Tree, Inc.’s methods include, but are not limited to, group dialog, one-on-one critiquing, feedback, and reading aloud.

Through this intensive, reflective writing process, inmates discover where the psychic breakdown of their spirit occurred. They evaluate their crimes and explore why they keep returning to prison, why treatment hasn't worked and why their efforts to assimilate into society have failed. They learn to see themselves from the point of view of the system—the police, the judge and the profit-driven society—that has imprisoned them.

Participants learn that it takes a special kind of strength to honestly tell their stories. By describing the changes that have happened in their lives, examining the decisions they have made, and writing and rewriting scripts from the past, inmates are able to imagine a future with new possibilities grounded in truth. As they come to value themselves as human beings, their self-esteem increases and they learn to break down the roadblocks to re-entry.

The results of the Cedar Tree, Inc. approach were especially dramatic in a three-month workshop held at a Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, prison located in the county with the nation's highest rate of heroin overdoses. The culture of addiction was explored in-depth here, and its hold on the prisoners/addicts was shattered. Participants were asked to recall, in writing, the first time they used drugs and examine the cultural environment that gave rise to the fears that traumatized them and led them to addiction.

The Tierra Amarilla prison writing workshop is the subject of the upcoming documentary, Lost Voices. Click this link to see excerpts from the film.