The saving power of song

Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir, by Andy Douglas (Innerworld Publications, 2019; $16)

Within the dehumanizing atmosphere of the Iowa Classification and Medical Center in Coralville, Iowa, a medium-security men’s prison, the Oakdale Community Choir brings hope and purpose to the incarcerated and “outside” community members alike who join together to sing.

In Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir, a beautifully written account of his eight years with the choir, Andy Douglas, a musician, writer, and member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Coralville, shares human stories while exploring important issues of race, poverty, and other factors that fuel the mass incarceration system in the United States.