50-Word Synopsis:

When a respected university professor is arrested and jailed, his life unravels—and reforms. A Past That Lies Before Me is a raw memoir exposing the criminal justice system, life inside jail, and the enduring consequences of a felony, revealing how loss, faith, and unexpected grace reshape one man forever.

100-Word Synopsis:

When an accomplished university professor is arrested and sentenced to jail, he is thrust into an alien world few ever see from the inside. A Past That Lies Before Me is a candid memoir and exposé of the criminal justice system, chronicling life in jail, institutional indifference, personal collapse, and the lasting stain of a felony record. Through encounters with fellow inmates, moral reckoning, and moments of surprising grace, Steve Clark confronts his failures and the system’s flaws. At once unflinching, compassionate, and deeply human, this memoir reveals how loss and confinement can yield unexpected transformation.

250-Word Synopsis:

When a respected university professor is arrested and sentenced to jail, his carefully built life collapses in an instant. In A Past That Lies Before Me, Steve Clark offers a raw, unfiltered memoir of his journey through arrest, incarceration, and the long shadow cast by a criminal conviction.

Thrown into the county jail system, Clark encounters a world governed by arbitrary rules, deliberate indifference, and quiet brutality—particularly toward mental and physical health. He shares the daily realities of jail life, the men he meets behind bars, and the institutional failures that entangle not only inmates but also families, careers, and futures long after sentences are served. He names this web the “Entanglement System,” a force that continues punishing long after the law is finished.

Yet this memoir is more than an exposé. It is also a deeply personal story of loss, remorse, and moral reckoning. As Clark confronts his own wrongdoing and the destruction it caused, he discovers unexpected moments of compassion, forgiveness, faith, and human connection—even in confinement. These encounters challenge his assumptions and reshape his understanding of justice, responsibility, and grace.

Simultaneously poignant, unsettling, and occasionally wry, A Past That Lies Before Me invites readers to look beyond headlines and stereotypes. It asks hard questions about punishment, redemption, and what it truly means to rebuild a life when the past never fully stays behind.

Taglines:

• “A professor’s fall into jail—and the unexpected grace that followed.”
• “Arrested. Entangled. Transformed.”
• “When the sentence ends, the punishment doesn’t.”
• “A raw memoir from inside the criminal justice system—and the human cost it hides.”
• “From “perfesser” to “pastor”: a journey through jail, loss, and redemption.”
• “An unflinching look at jail, justice, and the past that never lets go.”
• “Where failure meets faith, and confinement reveals the truth about freedom.”

“This is a memoir by a man who in middle age committed a felony, got caught, and is paying a price, and will continue to pay a price, as allowed by the law. The author makes no attempt to rationalize or justify his crime... he simply supplies the reader with the story, and the reader is left to decide if justice was and is being served. The initial "entanglement" with the legal system was indeed Kafkaesque, but that soon resolved into just a plain screwy bureaucracy. As one who has never been incarcerated, I thought the description of the legal/court process and the subsequent induction into a county jail was quite interesting. The jail experience, including the physical conditions and requirements (jail logic), and the people he came in contact with, mainly his jailers and his fellow prisoners, was quite informative for me. The author's coping mechanisms are also described. The final chapter describes the difficulties encountered after release and some of what it's like to be an ex-con trying to live a "normal" life when there is no "undo" function (Ctrl+Z) in the real world. I give the book 5 stars on Amazon's scale. It ought to be required reading for anybody who has NOT been incarcerated, (and especially if they have a relative or friend in jail), anybody who is studying criminal justice formally, and it will be of interest to anybody who is curious about the criminal justice system.”—Earl

“Most of us pay little attention to what goes on behind bars, or, for that matter, what happens in the criminal justice system. This book points toward the need for reform. Steve Clark’s story demonstrates the need to humanize jail policies and staff. Why would staff withhold needed prescribed medication? Why would they withhold employment from minor offenders? Our Jails are good at punishment but woefully inadequate at rehabilitation. The part I found most troubling is depicted in the title. Our society perpetuates the punishment of the incarcerated in many ways. Clark, a tenured university professor, lost everything except his faith. Like so many former prisoners, he never found lasting and meaningful employment. What he did find was a small community of friends to walk alongside him during his time in jail and the years after he got out. If our jails were humane places, if they focused more on rehabilitation, if people were given meaningful opportunities to reintegrate into society, would it not make sense that recidivism would decrease? Read this book, not only to understand the problem, but use it to help correct the system. Clark made jail a better place, and so should we.”—Lee

“This is the true story of how a university professor spent a year in prison because he made the unwise decision to seek his own (nonphysical) justice against a person who had committed several wrongs against him without suffering any consequences. His prison sentence upended his life...he lost everything. The book describes frustrating inconsistencies of the prison rules and the treatment of inmates by deputies and medical staff, which he terms "prison logic." He talks about his relationships with other prisoners, and explains the issues surrounding recidivism. He was fortunate to have family and friends that visited him in prison and helped him when he was released. He was also fortunate to be equipped with a strong faith, that literally saved his life. I was surprised at how difficult it was for a felon to find any type of job much less return to teaching and cancer research at the university. He had no good options. I couldn't put the book down, probably because I kept reading and hoping that he would catch a break. In the end, the good that came out of it was that his faith was strengthened and he was able to help people who were going through similar experiences. The book was well-written and I highly recommend getting it and reading it yourself, then giving it to a friend (or child or grandchild) that you are concerned might be on the path to making a bad decision that could result in a felony conviction and jail time. Shortly after reading the book, I came across the quote, "To dwell on the unfairness of life is to be devoured by it." What happened to this author could happen to anyone.”—Rosemary

Author Spotlight post on selfpublishingnews.com, Author Spotlight: Steve Clark