A compelling story, if not a particularly well-written one. While not ignoring that both men are where they are today because of the choices that they made, it is worth noting that author Wes had the role models and expectations to make the choices to escape a life of crime and poverty, along with a family that was willing to fight and able to sacrifice to pull him back onto the right path. While convict Wes had only fragments of a family, with no expectations of anything better. And his only role model was his older brother, who was a drug dealer.