“It’s Just Flourishing Hope Everywhere”: The Experiences of Incarcerated Men Sharing Their Stories

Abstract

Of the 2.2 million people incarcerated throughout the United States, 93% are men. The current phenomenological study adds to the existing body of qualitative research on the lived experiences of men who are incarcerated and supports storytelling as a therapeutic technique. Four essential themes were revealed through an analysis of participant interviews: (1) substance use, (2) anticipation of storytelling, (3) the act of storytelling, and (4) reflections on storytelling. Understanding these experiences can assist in the development of storytelling-based interventions and community programing that is mutually beneficial to both the teller and the listener.

Keywords

storytelling incarceration substance use identity stigma

The United States has the largest prison population in the world (Maria et al., 2018). Of the 2.2 million people currently incarcerated throughout the United States, 93% are men (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2021; Maria et al., 2018). Men who are incarcerated often have mental health needs, face societal stigma, and are disproportionately people of color and of low socioeconomic status (D. N. Evans et al., 2017; Maria et al., 2018). Incarceration significantly impacts an individual’s self-concept (Sykes, 1958), and men who are incarcerated face unique challenges as they try to construct their sense of self (D. N. Evans et al., 2017). The current study adds to the existing body of qualitative research on the lived experiences of men who are incarcerated and supports findings establishing storytelling as a therapeutic technique.

Stories have the power to change the identities and futures of those telling them (Bove & Tryon, 2018; Reissman, 2008), and storytelling has been widely established as a restorative intervention for stigmatized populations (Bove & Tryon, 2018; Geiger & Fischer, 2005; Mahoney & Daniel, 2006; Wilson, 2013). The current phenomenological study explores the experiences of men who are incarcerated and participated in a school-based storytelling project as part of a community-based education initiative. Understanding these experiences can assist in the development of storytelling-based interventions and community programing, that is, mutually beneficial to both the teller and the listener and can help enfranchise marginalized populations.

Background

The current study explores the phenomenon of storytelling within a context of incarceration and substance use. Men who were incarcerated shared their stories of substance use, incarceration, recovery, and change with students and teachers at a local high school. All participants lived in a 9 to 12 months residential substance use treatment program within a correctional institution in northern New England and volunteered to share their stories as part of a health class unit on substance use at a local high school. Substance use is a major issue in the community surrounding the correctional institution and throughout northern New England, which leads the nation in overdose deaths (National Institutes of Health, 2021) and has some of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in the country (Center for Disease Control, 2021). The community-based collaboration between the local school and the Department of Corrections has been in existence for more than a decade. It was formed with an acknowledgement that treatment for substance use during incarceration has the potential to lower recidivism rates (Owens et al., 2018) and that when individuals who are incarcerated share their stories with young people, something transformational occurs (Bove & Tryon, 2018).

Similar models of storytelling involving individuals who are incarcerated have been employed with female populations and their experiences have been investigated (Bove & Tryon, 2018). Although storytelling has been used in relation to men who are incarcerated, too often it entails socially dominant narratives of individual responsibility that negate the sociological factors that shape and condition behavior (Mckendy, 2006). There are often fewer opportunities for men who are incarcerated to tell their stories in their own way, in their own words (Mckendy, 2006). To gain insight about storytelling as a mutually beneficial transformational experience, the following research question was asked: What are the experiences of men who are incarcerated and share their stories with students and teachers as part of a community-based education initiative?

Literature Review

This literature review focuses on men who are involved in the criminal justice system and how their experiences of substance use, trauma, mental health, masculinity, stigma, and treatment have shaped them and the world they live in.

Substance Use

Substance use disorders are one of the most common health problems experienced by people who are involved in the criminal justice system around the world (Best et al., 2016; Mundt et al., 2018). In the United States, 85% of the prison population is incarcerated for a crime involving substances or substance use (National Institutes of Health, 2021), and more than half of people in prisons and jails meet the diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder (Owens et al., 2018). Although prevalence among populations within prisons and jails is significant, treatment for substance use while incarcerated can be effective and has the potential to lower recidivism rates (Owens et al., 2018). When a person uses substances, they often create a negative narrative of themselves built upon societal stereotypes of addiction (McConnell, 2016). Part of this narrative often involves shame and self-judgment, which lowers self-esteem and hinders one’s ability to integrate a more positive sense of themselves (D. N. Evans et al., 2017; Sawer et al., 2020).

Trauma and Mental Health

Approximately 75% of men in prisons and jails report having experienced trauma prior to becoming incarcerated (Maria et al., 2018), and nationally, one in six men in prison report having experienced physical or sexual abuse during childhood (Wolff et al., 2014). Given this prevalence it is not surprising that men who are incarcerated have five times the rate of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder than the general population (Maria et al., 2018; Wolff et al., 2014) and experience significantly more mental health and substance use issues than non-incarcerated individuals (Maria et al., 2018; Owens et al., 2018). Trauma has a significant impact on prisoner mental health and can affect one’s ability to successfully re-enter the community after release (Maria et al., 2018). According to Wolff et al. (2014), trauma is a universal experience for men who are incarcerated, and it is essential for correctional facilities to develop gender-sensitive trauma informed interventions. The prison environment plays a pivotal role in both creating and intensifying mental health outcomes for those who are incarcerated (Morelos, 2018), and correctional facilities that provide trauma informed treatment report less violence and improved mental health outcomes for inmates (Roberts & Springer, 2007).

Masculinity

The prison environment assumes a set of prescriptive norms that exaggerate traditional male attributes and encourage displays of domination, bravery, competition, violence, and aggression (Ricciardelli et al., 2015). Men’s adoption of hypermasculinity in prison settings is not simply a legitimate response to a dangerous living environment (de Vigiani, 2012), but represents an effort to cope with the destruction of the self that prison entry inevitably entails (Umamaheswar, 2020). When a man enters prison, his pre-prison identity is fundamentally altered (Asencio & Burke, 2011; Umamaheswar, 2020). He is removed from the community, disempowered, and emasculated (Umamaheswar, 2020).

The hypermasculinity often displayed by men who are incarcerated can offer status, self-worth, and safety, especially for those who may have unfavorable past life experiences (T. Evans & Wallace, 2008). It provides a sense of purpose for those living in uncertain environments such as correctional settings (Curtis, 2014; Ricciardelli et al., 2015) and can offer a way for men to cope with the destruction of their former selves that occurs during the process of incarceration (Umamaheswar, 2020). “Gendered assumptions about masculinity are deeply embedded in the structure of prison and serve as the bedrock for defining, creating, and maintaining security” (Curtis, 2014, p. 137). Being a man in prison is not something that is a given; it is something that has to be achieved through power and domination (Kupers, 2017). While many men who are incarcerated embrace outward displays of traditional masculinity in order to stay safe, others may seek safety by allowing a softer masculinity to show though that is passive, compliant, and vulnerable (Umamaheswar, 2020).

Stigma

The stigma faced by men who are incarcerated is well documented (Asencio & Burke, 2011; D. N. Evans et al., 2017; Swan, 2016; Winnick & Bodkin, 2009). When a man enters incarceration, he is labeled as deviant and subsequently rejected by friends, family, and society as a whole (Asencio, 2011). The “otherness” associated with a criminal conviction often leads to an internalization of the shameful and stigmatizing narratives prevalent in societal discourses about incarceration (D. N. Evans et al., 2017; Winnick & Bodkin, 2009).

Given the prevalence of research linking incarceration and stigma, it is essential that prison programing addresses internalized shame and societal stigmatization. Socialization between people who are incarcerated and those who are free can allow those considered deviant to be seen as human (Reith & Dobbie, 2012). In this way, the mask forced upon those who are incarcerated can be removed, stigmatization can be challenged through interactions with normative individuals, and de-stigmatization can occur (Conti et al., 2013). Opportunities for the personal empowerment of individuals who are incarcerated can play a critical role in moving beyond labels and rebuilding self-esteem and self-efficacy (D. N. Evans et al., 2017).

Storytelling

Narrative storytelling has historically been an important form of communication for passing along information and sharing individual experiences (Cash, 2016; Scott et al., 2013). Storytelling provides individuals with the power to make sense of the past, create new meanings for the future, and contribute to the development of one’s identity over time (Blount-Hill, 2020; Bove & Tryon, 2018; Cash, 2016; McConnell, 2016; Pasupathi & Rich, 2005; Reith & Dobbie, 2012). Narrative as written and verbal communication has the ability to define how one relates to others and the world (Cash, 2016). According to Renken (2020), people can change their outlook on things when they hear a story that touches them emotionally (Renken, 2020) and stories create connections between people that provide meaning and humanize the teller (Mckendy, 2006).

Mckendy (2006) conducted interviews with 13 men who were incarcerated and referred to their narratives as the “stories of shattered lives” (p. 473). Findings indicated the men were pressured to tell their stories in ways that emphasized individual responsibility and negated the sociological factors that shaped and conditioned their criminal behavior (McKendy, 2006). Through an analysis of their stories, Mckendy (2006) discovered “narrative debris” (p. 473), or grammatical fragments and vocal utterances that represented the men’s desire to tell all aspects of their pathways to imprisonment, including the contextual and sociological factors that led to incarceration and not just the actions they were individually responsible for. Without the freedom to tell their stories in ways that made sense to them, in their own words, it was challenging for the men to talk about their lives and reflect in ways that were empowering (Mckendy, 2006).

Self-narratives can always be reimagined and rewritten (Bove & Tryon, 2018; McConnell, 2016). Storytelling is a process of re-authoring the self that occurs through personal empowerment and the mobilization of inner agency (Geiger & Fischer, 2005; Mahoney & Daniel, 2006; Saltzburg, 2007). It is through this reimagination of self-narratives that fundamental shifts in identity can occur. Such shifts, and the attitudinal and behavioral changes that can result, have been linked to desistance from crime (Giordano et al., 2002, 2003, ). Research has shown that when incarcerated individuals are given opportunities to shift their attention toward intentional self-reflection, lasting cognitive and lifestyle change is more likely to occur (Giordano et al., 2002, 2003).

Gaps in the Literature

Existing research points to the importance of interactions between those who are incarcerated and those who are not as a means to reduce social stigma and rebuild a more positive sense of self (Conti et al., 2013; O’Connell et al., 2007). In spite of this research, there are fewer inquiries that look at the mechanisms by which these changes occur and the potential opportunities that allow for such interactions. Recent research has examined prisoners sharing their stories with high school students (Bove & Tryon, 2018) as well as college students engaging in learning and teaching alongside prisoners (Conti et al., 2013); however, there is a need to build on existing research that examines normative interaction between those who are incarcerated and those who are not. A particular focus is needed on additional qualitative inquiries, especially those that focus on the storytelling experience from a holistic perspective that uses a sociological context and includes all of the factors that lead an individual to incarceration (McKendy, 2006).

Methods

The men who participated in this study lived in a residential substance use treatment program within the correctional institution and volunteered to share their stories during the substance use education unit in multiple health classes at a local high school. The men shared their stories with audiences that averaged 20 to 30 students and a few teachers. Presentations lasted for over an hour and included a question and answer session. A phenomenological research method was employed to gain a deep understanding of the shared experience of sharing personal stories with students and teachers at an area high school. Phenomenology illuminates the underlying meaning and commonalities of a shared experience and is well suited for a deeper understanding of a particular phenomenon (Armour, 2002; Moustakas, 1994). In this study, the phenomenon under investigation is sharing stories about substance use and incarceration at an area high school. Phenomenology takes into account the researcher’s beliefs and injection of their lived experience by the use of the phenomenological procedures of writing assumption statements, bracketing, writing field notes throughout the analysis process, and peer review.

The first author was a participant observer who is an employee at the correctional facility; therefore it was important, as Armour (2002) state, “to establish mechanisms that hold the researcher accountable for the disciplined use of his or her subjectivity” (p. 373). The first and third author participated in an initial study with women who were incarcerated, and the second author was the faculty advisor for the first study. The current research seeks to replicate that study with men who are incarcerated.

Participants

This study utilized criterion sampling. All participants were men who were incarcerated and had participated in sharing their stories with students and teachers at an area high school (n = 5). The age of participants ranged between 28 and 44 years old. One of the men identified as African American, one as Native American, and three as Caucasian. All five men identified as coming from low to middle socioeconomic backgrounds, were incarcerated for crimes related to the use of substances, voluntarily participated in sharing their stories, and agreed to be interviewed about their experience.

Procedure

Interviews were conducted over a 3 months period with five men who participated in sharing their stories at an area high school. A semi-structured interview guide was employed to gather information about the men’s experiences. The guide addressed the following topics: motivation, rewards, challenges, and self-discovery. The researchers conducted all five interviews at a correctional facility located in Northern New England. Interviews were conducted in private settings during times that were convenient for the participants. Prior to each interview, the researchers reviewed the informed consent form and participants selected pseudonyms to protect confidentiality. The interviews lasted on average 30 minutes. The university Institutional Review Board and the State Department of Corrections approved this study.

Data Analysis

All audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Processes of phenomenological analysis (Creswell, 2013; Moustakas, 1994) were used. The steps of phenomenological analysis were as follows: (1) recording a list of assumptions about men who are incarcerated; (2) bracketing experience working with this population; (3) conducting a naïve reading to absorb the entirety of the data; (4) reducing and eliminating data that did not pertain to the lived experience of being men who are incarcerated; (5) creating meaning units from the significant statements; (6) eliminating repetitive and overlapping meaning units; (7) categorizing meaning units into clusters of meaning (themes); and (8) testing themes against the entirety of data (validated by the full text of transcripts). The reliability of themes was triangulated by the three researchers.

The clusters of meaning resulted in four essential themes: (1) substance use, (2) anticipation of storytelling (with subthemes), (3) the act of storytelling (with subthemes), and (4) reflections on storytelling (with subthemes). Social construction grounded this analysis and is well suited for phenomenological research (Grbich, 2007) as humans construct meaning through their experiences in their environment, which includes a historic, cultural, and social perspective (Crotty, 1998). Constructionist research includes subjectivity and a reality that is in flux and experienced differently depending on the person and their perception (Grbich, 2007).

Given the intense stigma faced by people who are incarcerated (Asencio & Burke, 2011; D. N. Evans et al., 2017; Geiger & Fischer, 2005; Mahoney & Daniel, 2006; Swan, 2016; Winnick & Bodkin, 2009), social constructionism is an important framework for understanding their lived experiences and the means by which the the men who shared their stories may dynamically reconstruct different social realities and negotiate a more positive self and identity.

Results

Four major themes emerged through the data analysis: (1) substance use, (2) anticipation of storytelling (with subthemes), (3) the act of storytelling (with subthemes), and (4) reflections on storytelling (with subthemes).

Theme 1: Substance Use

Participants reported that an overarching aspect of their experiences were thoughts about substance use and how it related to their own identities. The men stated that by sharing their stories they were able to reflect on their own relationship with substances, the concept of recovery, and why it is important for those with lived experience of substance use to share their experiences with others. The participants expressed that substance use can affect anyone regardless of age, income, race, or ethnicity: “It doesn’t single anyone out. It reaches out and touches everyone.” Participants stated that those who struggle with substance use are still human beings that deserve respect and inclusion. “I am no different. I am the same as you are.”

It was important for participants to let students and teachers know that recovery is possible even though it is difficult. Participants stated that making mistakes was an inevitable part of recovery and that recovery is a process. “People are still going to make that choice [to use substances]. I had that choice, had seen it my whole life, and still made that choice. It’s not about whether you do it, it’s how you come back from it.” Similarly, another man shared, “Recovery is not a–you go to rehab and it’s fixed. It’s a lifelong fight and I realize that I am going to be stuck in that fight forever.”

Participants discussed the importance of sharing their stories about substance use. Many wished they had heard the truth about substance use from someone with lived experience when they were younger. “I wish someone had come in and done this for me when I was in school–not like a ‘scared straight’ thing–just a transfer of information and experience.” Similarly, another man shared, “I thought maybe if I would’ve heard somebody like me coming into my school, that things might have been different.”

Theme 2: Anticipation

Participants reported wondering how the experience would feel and worrying about how their story would be received. The men reported they were afraid to tell their stories and felt “uncomfortable,” “nervous,” and “anxious.” One man spoke about how his grandmother helped him to tell his story:

Then I told my grandmother and she was elated, saying “Oh my god, that’s so great!” and I was like “yeah, ok.” But she was right, and she reinforced that I should do it, that it might be good for me to do something like that. And of course, as usual, I was wrong and she was right.

Fear of judgment

Participants reported a fear of judgement in telling their stories and worried about how they would be viewed by the students: “I guess my biggest fear was about what they were going to think about me. Were they going to be scared, were they going to look down on me, were they going to be rude.” The fear of judgement was a common concern in participants sharing their stories. One man described walking into a classroom: “It’s hard because when you walk in there it feels like everyone knows who you are even if they don’t.”

Fear of causing harm

Participants also stated a worry that the content of their stories would cause harm to students. One man shared, “Your thinking hopefully I don’t hurt somebody saying some of the things that we said. It’s something to be concerned about–how were they going to react? Were they going to be angry or sad?” They reported this added to their trepidation.

Difficulty leaving prison

Participants reported leaving their prison routine was “overwhelming,” “hard,” and “challenging.” One participant shared, “I guess anytime you are released from a facility after a long period of time, after you are trapped in one place, it is sensory overload. Smells, sights, and sounds, it’s a lot.” This was a shared anxiety, adding to their fears of telling their stories.

Theme 3: The Act of Storytelling

Connecting with others

The men reported that sharing their stories offered them an opportunity to meaningfully connect with other people and that making these connections with students and teachers was “powerful.” Many participants discussed how being in prison caused them to forget it was possible to relate with people who are not incarcerated and how sharing their stories helped them remember such connections were attainable. As one participant shared: “The ability to go to these kids and connect with them, made me realize that I am not a leper anymore. I am not so different from so many people. I am actually similar to a lot of people.” Another participant discussed how being incarcerated feels like living on another planet, and that sharing his story allowed him to feel human again: “You feel like you can’t relate to people. But it was cool that they could still view me as a normal person in a way. ‘Cause I kind of felt like an alien.”

Honesty

Participants reported that another important aspect of their experience was honesty. As one man shared, “You have to look at a lot of things that you did and it’s hard. I put so much out there that I hadn’t before.” Participants reported that opening up and speaking honestly “felt freeing.”

Many of the men stated that in order to truly “get through” to the students and “make a difference,” they needed to be open, authentic, and genuine in what and how they shared. In the words of one participant, “I can’t just go in there and say ‘drugs are bad’ ‘cause that’s what they hear all the time. They needed to hear real life situations.” Another participant elaborated, “The goal was to open these kids’ eyes and teach them something, something that the teachers might not be able to. It is not the conventional way of teaching, but I think it is very important.”

Engaging the audience

Participants stated they were able to tell that the students were paying attention and truly listening to their stories. “A lot of them were right on the edge of their seat and you could tell they were interested in what we had to say.” Participants also reported that they were cautious not to promote substance use and incarceration. “I was very careful with my language, trying not to justify things or glorify things. I remember in high school there were some gentlemen from the local jail who came to speak and I looked up to these guys, not in a good way. I didn’t want to be that guy.”

Theme 4: Reflections on Storytelling

An emotional experience

Sharing their story generated a wide array of emotional responses: “It was weird, there were times that I felt real nervous and there were times that I felt real comfortable, and everything in between,” and “I mean at the time while I was doing it, as weird as it sounds, it was almost like a euphoric feeling.” Another reported, “I felt like I had been in a 12 round boxing match. It was one of the most mentally draining experiences that I’ve been through.” Overall, participants described an experience that covered both ends of the emotional spectrum.

Self-learning

Participants reported understanding themselves and their past experiences in new ways: “Putting my story out there, I saw there is a lot of guilt and shame in my life.” For others, storytelling elucidated their potential: “I learned that I can do things that are uncomfortable” and “I realized that I have more to offer.” For one man, this led to self-realizations of vocational aspirations: “I think that ultimately I would like to end up in the field of helping other people with drug addiction.” One man shared how he came to understand the ways in which his family upbringing contributed to his substance use:

I try to negate my past and the way I was brought up. I try not to hold that as being partially or indirectly responsible for what I do, but I learned that it is a huge part of where I ended up. It’s a huge part of the multitude of mistakes I kept making and feeling like the world owed me something.

In regard to substance use, another expressed: “It provided safety. If I had felt safe anywhere else I wasn’t going to seek it where I did. That’s where I got my safety and relief was with the wrong people, doing the wrong things.” From sharing their stories, many participants became aware that change is possible: “I realized that you can come back from it. No matter how dismal or insane things get, you can bounce back.”

Internal rewards

The men who shared their stores reported experiencing a variety of internal rewards. Participants stated that it made them feel “proud” and “happy,” and that the experience gave them “goosebumps” and left them feeling like they “made a difference.” Additionally, the men reported that storytelling provided them an opportunity to confront painful and unprocessed experiences from their pasts: “It’s like taking some things out of your closet and shining a light on it. It allowed it to shrivel up some.” This reconciliation of unprocessed emotion led participants to describe their experience as both “therapeutic” and “cathartic.” Speaking to this healing aspect of storytelling, one participant shared that he “felt lighter afterwards” and another reported that “it takes the pain away.”

In addition to the benefits described above, participants reported the appreciation shown to them by the audience was another rewarding aspect of their experience. Participants described this as “gratifying,” “rewarding,” and “moving.” One man shared, “Seeing the reaction we got from the kids and the teacher saying ‘thank you so much for coming,’ it was amazing.”

Many participants expressed a desire to share their story again: “I just wanted to do it again and again and again.”

Benefits to the students

Participants reported that the perception that sharing their stores benefited the students was an important part of their experience, which was later validated by personalized letters the men received from the students while still in prison. Participants felt sharing their mistakes might help the students make better choices. “I was telling them [the students] that I have made these mistakes for you so you don’t have to make them. ‘Cause I already did, and I can tell you what the consequences of those mistakes were.”

The men used their past experiences to increase an understanding of substance use. “The knowledge that I have [about substance use], there’s no reason I shouldn’t share them things. I shouldn’t keep it to myself. That is selfish.” By sharing their real life experiences, participants felt the students would better understand the dangers of experimentation. One man stated, “I wanted them to really see that it goes from being innocent to being really evil, quickly.” One man reported wanting the students to understand that they are no different than he was at that age, “I was a good kid that went to school. I didn’t want them to think that they were so different from me that they couldn’t turn out like me.” The men also let students know that if substance use did start to become a problem in their life, it was important that they ask for help: “They’re going to experiment. It’s just the way it is. But if you feel like it starts to become a problem, you need to let someone know.”

In addition to discussing the dangers of substance use, they wanted students to understand recovery is possible: “Hope. That’s what I want to give those kids. Maybe there’s a kid in there that’s struggling with addiction themselves. I’m hoping that my story gives them hope.” One participant considered “strength and hope” to be the most important takeaway of his story.

Feedback from the students

The feedback from students included questions and comments during the event as well as letters the men later received in prison. Participants reported pride about their impact: “It was just amazing to know that I had impacted young people like that.” Another man spoke about how the feedback he received reminds him that he has something to offer the world: “When I get depressed and I feel like I might not have as much of a purpose as I thought I did, I just look at those [letters] to show myself that I can affect more than myself in a positive way.”

In some cases, the students shared that hearing the men’s stories changed their perceptions about people who use substances or are incarcerated. “One letter said something like ‘just because you got in trouble or that you are a drug addict doesn’t mean that you are a bad person.’” Other participants received similar comments. “Kids telling me that it changed the way they look at addicts, the way they look at prisoners.” Participants reported that the feedback they received showed that telling their stories mattered.

The men described the feedback as “touching,” “rewarding,” and “unbelievable.” One man shared, “They were amazing. They were powerful. I wasn’t expecting to feel like that.” One man shared how powerful it was to receive a letter in prison from someone who wasn’t a friend or family member:

When you get into the throes of addiction, or even being incarcerated, you feel like hope is a big thing that is taken away from you, whether it be your family not answering the phone, or not receiving any mail–so to get something [a letter] from someone who doesn’t know me other than me standing in front of them for 45 minutes, to have somebody do that it makes me feel hopeful.

This participant went on to describe how the hopefulness he saw in the student’s letter was practically contagious. “So it’s hope for anybody involved. . .it’s just flourishing hope everywhere.” One participant spoke of the letters as a “treasure” and another stated he would keep the letters he received “forever.”

Discussion

The goal of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of men who are incarcerated and shared their stories at a local high school. The findings elucidate how sharing stories can have a transformative impact on both the storyteller and the listener. The men who were incarcerated and participated in this study expressed meaning and purpose that has a positive effect on sense of self, how they perceive others, and how others perceive them. As such, the outcomes of this study have relevance and implication for the development of prison programing that is therapeutic, rehabilitative, reduces recidivism, and promotes desistance from crime. Four major themes emerged through the data analysis: (1) substance use, (2) anticipation of storytelling (with subthemes), (3) the act of storytelling (with subthemes), and (4) reflections on storytelling (with subthemes).

Substance Use

All of the men in this study had a history of substance use and were diagnosed with substance use disorders, which according to research is one of the most common health problems experienced by people who are incarcerated (Best et al., 2016; Mundt et al., 2018). For these men, telling their stories was part of their pathway to recovery, a journey according to one participant that would take “a lifetime.” For the men who participated, sharing their stories offered a starting point to explore who they are and who they wanted to be. It allowed them to confront past traumas while also looking ahead to future goals. “It’s always been an internal battle with me and to [tell my story] and actually walk through the history of my life. . .realizing that I am genuinely embarrassed about the way I grew up.”

The men in this study used substances to deal with the pain that had accumulated throughout their lives and lead them down a road that ultimately led to incarceration. They verbalized in their stories that substance use and its consequences damaged their lives and those they loved but now they are willing to put in the work necessary to have a more fulfilling life. The study elucidated how sharing stories of the effects of substance use allowed the men and the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the residual impact substances can have on the person using and those they care about. This insight can lead to transformation and healing. Finding purpose in sharing their story can boost purpose and meaning, which was illustrated by the sense of responsibility participants in this study articulated to impart their hard-earned knowledge for the benefit of others to prevent them from making similar mistakes: “I was telling them that I have made these mistakes so you don’t have to make them.”

The act of storytelling provided both the tellers and the listeners a unique opportunity to understand more fully the person who exists underneath the labels of “criminal,” “addict,” and “prisoner” (Bove & Tryon, 2018; Reith & Dobbie, 2012). In this sharing, participants confronted the shame and stigma they felt as a result of their substance use and criminal history while creating new experiences (Sawer et al., 2020). Storytelling is an important strategy to challenge addiction archetypes and to rewrite their self narrative and reimagine a new future with an identity they define (McConnell, 2016). Sharing stories creates a humanizing effect and helps the teller to gain respect and admiration from the listeners (Conti et al., 2013), which supports a more positive sense of self, particularly for those who have spent a good part of their lives in a cycle of substance use and incarceration.

Storytelling

The benefits of storytelling are well documented in this and other studies (Bove & Tryon, 2018; Geiger & Fischer, 2005; Mahoney & Daniel, 2006; Wilson, 2013); however, the fear of sharing an honest portrayal can be daunting and prohibit the storyteller from sharing. The participants in this study held a fear of judgment and of causing harm to their audience. Given the dominant societal discourses of inferiority, deficiency, and “otherness” that surround substance use and incarceration (Asencio, 2011; D. N. Evans et al., 2017; McConnell, 2016), it is an understandable concern. As with others in similar circumstances and personal histories, the men in this study bought into a collective narrative that they were deficient and dangerous. This study validates existing research documenting the internalization of shame and stigma surrounding incarceration and substance use among incarcerated populations (D. N. Evans et al., 2017; Winnick & Bodkin, 2009).

The internalized beliefs of participants and fear they had of sharing their stories sheds light on inner struggles of identity and self. They expected judgment from the audience and believed the students would form opinions of them based on negative social narratives and not on who they were as people. “It’s hard because when you walk in there it feels like everyone knows who you are even if they don’t.” If one expects to be judged negatively and projects these expectations onto the external world, it may restrict future opportunities and limit the potential for normative social interaction, as well as amplify inner feelings of shame and low self-worth. The results of this study support research documenting the intense stigma faced by men who are incarcerated (Asencio & Burke, 2011; D. N. Evans et al., 2017; Swan, 2016; Winnick & Bodkin, 2009) and how the internalization of negative narratives can alter conceptions of self, how one sees the world, and one’s own future.

The findings also support research detailing the all-encompassing nature of incarceration and the profound impact it can have on identity (Bove & Tryon, 2018; Sykes, 1958). The men in this study experienced discomfort when they left the prison to share their stories, which added to their anxiety. Leaving an established prison routine and entering a novel environment was jarring. This study supports the importance of introducing interface with the “outside world” to begin the process of re-entry and composing a new identity outside of the prison walls. Findings reveal that men who are incarcerated experience a fundamental alteration of identity (Alarid & Vega, 2010; Asencio & Burke, 2011) that can pose a barrier to remembering and rediscovering their true sense of self outside of the prison environment.

Transformative Effect of Storytelling

The results of this study demonstrate how sharing stories can lead to meaningful connection with others and how this produces a transformative effect. Connecting and engaging with an audience of non-incarcerated individuals can create a bridge between those on the inside and those on the outside of the prison walls (Bove & Tryon, 2018). Storytelling is an opportunity for the students to see the men as human despite their incarceration and history of substance use. As one man in the study stated, “It was cool that they could still view me as a normal person in a way. ‘Cause I kind of felt like an alien’.”

Through telling their stories and meaningfully connecting with students, the men were reminded of their own humanity and could begin to deconstruct the spoiled identities affixed to them by dominant social narratives. It is only through such deconstruction that a more positive sense of self can be rebuilt and personal identity can be reimagined. Self arises through social interactions with others (Reith & Dobbie, 2012), and storytelling is a vehicle through which self-transformation can occur. The results of the current study support research documenting storytelling as a restorative and therapeutic technique for marginalized populations (Bove & Tryon, 2018; Geiger & Fischer, 2005; Mahoney & Daniel, 2006; Wilson, 2013) and point to the utility of stories to shift established perspectives among listeners (Renken, 2020). In this way, storytelling can be conceived as a mutually transformational experience.

Findings of this study demonstrate how storytelling provides an opportunity to be honest and authentic for reasons beyond their own self-interest, to “get through” to the students and “make a difference.” The act of storytelling allowed students in the audience an opportunity to hear and see the raw truth and consequence of prolonged substance use from those with lived experience, while providing participants the chance to tell their stories in their own words and without constraint. This is in direct opposition to the “narrative debris” referred to by Mckendy (2006, p. 473) that can exist when individuals are pressured to tell their stories in ways that emphasize individual responsibility and negate the sociological factors that influence behavior.

This study supports the need to tell stories authentically without pressure to mimic a collective narrative that stigmatizes without consideration of context. Providing a venue for this type of sharing can result in a release of painful past burdens and reimagination of the future that emphasizes personal agency. The results of this study corroborate research showing self-narratives can be reimagined and rewritten in ways that benefit the teller, their families, and communities (Bove & Tryon, 2018; McConnell, 2016).

Reflexivity in Storytelling

The current study suggests that being able to share personal narratives in an authentic and truthful way contributed to emotive reflection, and resulted in a several internal rewards for participants such as a sense of pride for having told their story, an opportunity to confront painful parts of their past, and being moved by the appreciation of their audience. For the men in this study, sharing stories in a candid way meant they exposed parts of themselves they were not proud of; however, by having the courage to do this they could see how their mistakes and patterns positioned them to be “part of the solution” and potentially work “in the field of helping other people with drug addiction in some way.”

The findings support research on storytelling being a reflective vehicle for people to understand their past in the telling, gain clarity and meaning, and use this experience to build a future and identity informed by their past, no matter how painful (Blount-Hill, 2020; Bove & Tryon, 2018; Cash, 2016; McConnell, 2016; Pasupathi & Rich, 2005; Reith & Dobbie, 2012). The sharing of stories in this setting, particularly about the toll of using substances on their lives and those they love, allowed the participants to confront the depth of the consequence and cross a threshold they described as “therapeutic” and “cathartic,” with a degree of healing that helped them to “[feel] lighter afterwards” and take some of “the pain away.”

The idea that change is possible is another benefit of sharing stories and seeing oneself in relation to a wider reality and trajectory beyond what has defined those who are incarcerated and those who use substances. The idea that “you can come back from it” and “people can make a difference and they can change’’ has the potential to alter established patterns and redefine how one relates to and perceives their place in the world (Cash, 2016). The idea that identity and destiny are not fixed based on history, past mistakes, or even having been in prison is what holds possibility to remake a future composed of new and more positive experiences. The findings of this study support previous research indicating that candid and authentic storytelling plays a supportive role in building that future and desisting from crime (Giordano et al., 2002, 2003).

The participants in this study laid bare their souls to strangers and as a result reported numerous gains, particularly in self-reflection of their past. In sharing their stories, and subsequent reflection, they told a story in their words with authenticity. In doing so, they provided a humanity that went beyond stereotyping of substance users in prison and created a connection with their audience (Renken, 2020). The stories shared by these men were more than warnings to the students, and while participants assumed responsibility for their actions, they also shared a context for their choices in their own words, which presents a more holistic picture and resists the narrative that does not include sociological factors (Mckendy, 2006). For storytelling to have the transformative impact on the teller and the listener, the narrator must be authentic, truthful, and have the freedom to include a holistic picture using their own words.

Conclusion

The current study supports the value of storytelling as a restorative/therapeutic technique for men who are incarcerated and have a history of substance use. Additionally, the study elucidates the shame and stigma experienced by men who are incarcerated and how they have internalized a negative social narrative. Further research is needed to learn how storytelling can be used to achieve transformation of self and identity to support positive outcomes after prison. This research could include longitudinal studies, focus groups for member checking, expanding the study to other geographic locations, and a focus on the experiences of the listeners in the audience. This study is a replication of a study involving women who are incarcerated, and future research could look more closely at the similarities and differences in these two groups. Such understandings will assist in the development and support of prison programing that is mutually beneficial to the teller and listeners.

The results of this study suggest the men gained insight, new perspectives, purpose, and meaning as a result of sharing their stories. Based on this study and existing research, it is important for men who are incarcerated to share their stories in ways that are authentic and not used to “scare” youth away from substance use and crime. Recommendations for increasing the benefits of storytelling for incarcerated men could involve expanding opportunities to share candid stories in a variety of community settings, a reciprocal process that ensures meaningful interaction with the audience, and collaborative program design including the storytellers. Stories are the essence of the human experience and have the power to provide insight on the past, solid grounding in the present, and transformation and hope for the future.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the participants of this study for courageously sharing their stories, Daniel Kelly and Michael Bove for their help in editing the manuscript, and Wellpath for their support of this research.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Rebecca Tryon

Andrew Bove

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