• Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 134
• Miles run today: 10.1
• Miles run this week: 36.3
• Miles run during the calendar month: 143.5
• Marathon distances completed: 13
• Weight: 168

Journal of activities:

Today I went ran a shorter distance. This book project for The University of California Press continues to weigh heavily on my mind. I’ve given myself until tomorrow to make a decision. Writing a book requires a substantial investment of time. Although a new book could open enormous opportunities that would spread awareness about the ancillary consequences of our nation’s massive prison system, it would also dilute my attention from ongoing projects that I’ve already begun.  I don’t know whether I can:

• Train facilitators in jails, prisons, and schools how to teach the Straight-A Guide;
• Develop a job-training program for the formerly incarcerated;
• Lead a team of interns and community-based organizers who will teach soft skills to the formerly incarcerated;
• Open opportunities that will allow me to speak in front of business leaders;
• Work with the Michael G. Santos Foundation to grow our organization;
• Teach The Architecture of Incarceration at San Francisco State University;
• Run 14 marathons during 2014,
• Build my relationship with Carole, and
• Write a new book for The University of California Press.

I’m still working on the proposal and sample chapter. Yet when I think about the challenges and time commitment of writing a 75,000 word manuscript, I question whether I can fully commit. These thoughts cloud my mind on this first Christmas Eve that I spend in society.

I did take the time to pick up a small ornament that would surprise my wife when she wakes on our first Christmas morning together.