Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars

by Kenneth E. Hartman

The fierce and affecting memoir of a convicted murderer, whose growing self-awareness enables him to understand his crime and achieve redemption. In 1980, Kenneth Hartman murdered a homeless man in a Los Angeles park after a drug-fueled binge. Sentenced to life without parole by the state of California, Hartman was soon considered a potent force by the system’s most brutal convicts. To the hellish chaos of a maximum-security prison he brought his own limitless propensity for violence—he often spent months at a time in solitary confinement, “the Hole.”

After years in the cold embrace of the state prison system, Hartman discovered a vocation for writing; he also met, through a chance phone call, the woman he would marry and have a child by. With poignancy and self awareness, Hartman chronicles the anarchy and brutish moral code that rules in some of the world’s most infamous prisons, where physical punishment is the only form of control. Over time, Hartman evolves into a sentient being; follows his newly discovered spiritual and literary inclinations; and learns to deal with his demanding responsibilities as a family man. The final chapter describes his development of the Honor Program, which helps motivated prisoners escape the ravages of incarceration.

Mother California is the story of a man who did not succumb to the darkness of the only world left to him. It offers definite proof that there is no such thing as a life beyond redemption.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, True Crime

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2009

About the author

Kenneth E. Hartman is an American writer and prison activist. A convicted murderer, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2017, his sentencing was overturned and he was released from prison.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prison memoirs are not my thing, but Kenneth Hartman's slim but potent life story takes you out of your day to day life and places you directly in his shoes. Not only is it a fascinating glimpse of life as a prisoner for life without parole, but it's also a hopeful book. Despite everything, Hartman wishes for a better life and strives to be happy and find peace. One finishes the book with a radically different perspective on the American prison system.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can one mistake...or choice...ruin your life as you know it? Yes. Is it possible to change even though there will be very ,limited reward in the end? Yes. Mr. Hartman is a prime example. Give him a chance and read his story.

[~m · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is worth every moment you spend with it. The prison system shines a mirror up to us as a nation, a full and disclosure of our values. This book is a gem in bringing light to that. If you are interested in the topic of what it means to be a human or how to create justice for all pick up this book. It is a hard read, the writing is wonderful and hopefully you will feel more of all the feels of your humanity in the end and be urged to think differently about what a criminal justice system can be.

[Peter Landau · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s presumptuous to give someone a book. It’s like buying them a desk. There’s a personal relationship there that should develop organically between the body and the object. That said, there are people you trust who can open you up to something you might never have read, and chance is not bad either, as well as unavoidable. So, when my friend I was visiting in the hospital told me about MOTHER CALIFORNIA: A STORY OF REDEMPTION BEHIND BARS by Kenneth E. Hartman, a lifer without possibility of parole, I was interested.

I like prison memoirs, at least the couple I’ve read by Jack Henry Abbott and Eldridge Cleaver. They’re better writers than Hartman, who’s no slough, but he lacks the literary pretensions. Not that his prose doesn’t fall victim to cliche, but whose doesn’t? Mostly, it’s a brutal short tale of a fuck up who slowly gains a conscious. That’s it. No happy ending, just striving, with little reward or expectation.

Hartman is a tough guy, and I have a problem with the macho posturing, but then he lives in a dangerous world that trivializes the problems in mine. Beyond the voyeurism of peeking in between the bars, there’s Hartman’s work at prison reform and his indictment of trends towards harsher punishments. These fights hit a wall harder than any prison wall, which creates the implicit message of this book, far greater than its spiritual awakening and even the commendable human growth Hartman documents. That is, our societal responsibility to reject the inexcusable torture of revenge and the dehumanization of institutional and inhumane penalizing.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I was looking for a well argued case for redemption from a killer’s own voice. The author is a convicted murderer; however, I was looking for a perspective coming from a killer in different circumstances. I was looking for a challenge to some of my viewpoints. In this case, I agree totally with the author; I feel he deserved a second chance. I also agree that the system is not conducive to rehabilitation and therefore a costly waste. But questions remain: does everyone have the potential to be rehabilitated, do all prisoners deserve a chance? These were not areas my mind was guided to during the reading.

The author killed one person, when he was very young when he did it. The victim was a homeless man, who didn’t even have family representing him at the court hearing. It’s inexcusable behavior and the ultimate crime; however, I would argue there are much worse offenders. Those are the ones I was open to having my mind changed about.

The book is still recommended. It’s a first-hand, honest look at life in some of the toughest prisons in the US from an eloquent, extremely reflective person- who also used to be an apex predator.

[Leah Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and impressive prison memoir. One interesting dynamic going on is that I think there are a lot of people whose lives are kind of like this, but their writing ability is overwhelmingly very low. Hartman is clearly articulate and a good writer, so he's able to give a perspective we don't usually see in books. It gave a good illustration of how much someone can change over their life (and how much it really doesn't make sense to give life without parole for something someone did at 19), and how recognizing incarcerated people as humans is really important to facilitating that change.

Three stars because I can't say I enjoyed the experience of reading it all that much, though that's clearly not the point. Dark and a very tough read in some parts.

[Zaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal and poignant.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise prose, powerful and honest story. A life and a gargantuan system portrayed in 140 pages. Masterful and moving.

[Rosie Chisnall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an honest memoir and really took you through Kenneth's entire journey.
Highly recommended

[Madge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story about Kenneth Hartman who is in a California Prison for murder. It has been 30 years and this book was written in 2009. He writes About how he got there, how he met his wife, married and had a daughter all while in prison. A story of true redemption but the failure of our system to allow any eligibility to parole. He started the Honor Program and continues to this day to try and change the prison system from the inside.

June, 2019 I met Ken on the outside as his sentence was commuted in 2018. I reread the book again after meeting him.

[Jennifer Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I would never have picked up, but it was recommended by an independent book store owner - http://www.rjjulia.com/. The author is in California prison for life without parole. It is a very interesting story about who he was then and who he is now and how redemption comes in the most unexpected ways. Also, it provides interesting insight into the prison system. Short read and extremely well-written.

[Deepti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a powerful prison memoir and is quite skillfully written. This book lets you into the life of a prisoner convicted for life without parole and offers a glimpse of the American prison system. As we progress into this book, we notice, quite subtly, the shift in Hartman's tone from an angry, drug-addicted young boy to a clean, responsible adult, who learns to love, care, long, and be more human-like.

It's a great book, it just wasn't gripping for me, hence 3/5.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a phenomenal memoir, it opened my eyes to the flaws of our system by both describing the violent culture perpetrated when you’re in prison and how one is affected by it. A first hand recount of this violent culture is something everyone curious about the criminal law system should read. Getting to not only read but experience the author become more and more human is even more eye opening and makes this memoir all the more valuable and important.

[Scoobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

scary

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful memoir; really well written.

[Katie Boland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stark look at life in prison and how it has changed over decades. The perspective of a prisoner on reform needed in the parole system.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely compelling. This book feels honest. A must read for anyone interested in the subject.

[Deb]

suggested by the Strangers podcast about wrongful imprisonment.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my top 20 favorite reads!