BUDDHIST ON DEATH ROW How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place

Jarvis Jay Masters was an angry and anxious inmate on death row in San Quentin when an investigator urged him to try meditation as a way to find calm. Masters becomes a Buddhist and a peacemaker in the prison, and in those finds a sort of liberation. Narrator Michael Boatman's graceful, gentle tone and deliberate pacing are compelling as he masterfully guides us through Jarvis's emotional journey. Through his Buddhist teachers and constant, striving practice, Jarvis comes to terms with the violence that he has experienced and perpetrated, and copes with multiple emotional tests as he loses court appeal after court appeal, a teacher dies, and his marriage fails. Jarvis may be serious about his purpose in life, but his sense of humor and humility lighten the load, and Boatman is right there to capture the right mood for every word. A.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2020]