SPRING: THE WALK FROM INCARCERATION TO FREEDOM

He woke up in a jail cell at 49 years old — and couldn't remember why.Bernard Mills spent decades doing what the streets taught him to do. Sell. Survive. Repeat. Growing up in Newark, New Jersey with no father, no role models, and an extension cord as a parenting tool, the streets weren't a choice — they were the only education available.What followed was a life of hustle, heroin, heartbreak, and incarceration. Juvenile detention at ten. Reform school at fourteen. In and out of prison for decades. Then, at forty-nine, Bernard woke up behind bars facing aggravated manslaughter charges he couldn't even remember committing.SPRING: The Walk From Incarceration To Freedom is his story — raw, unfiltered, and told in his own voice. It is the story of a man who lost everything, including an eye, and found himself for the first time inside a prison cell. It is the story of a GED earned at 55, a baptism at Northern State Prison, and a Buddhism practice that finally brought peace. And it is the story of what happens when a man who spent a lifetime taking from his community decides to spend the rest of his life giving back.Told through Bernard's own words — captured and shaped by co-author D.S. Brown — SPRING is more than a memoir. It is a testimony. A warning. And for anyone who has ever needed proof that change is possible, it is evidence.Since his release, Bernard has volunteered at homeless shelters, completed five years of parole, had his voting rights restored by the Governor of Virginia, and joined the Virginia Board of Counselors. Today he is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Drug and Alcohol Counselor, mentor, and coach — dedicated full-time to helping returning citizens navigate reentry.SPRING is essential reading for:Counselors and social workers in the criminal justice and recovery spaceReentry programs, halfway houses, and faith-based organizationsEducators working with at-risk youthAnyone in recovery or supporting someone who isReaders who believe rehabilitation is possible — and want proofIf you believe in second chances, this book is for you. Bernard Mills is living proof they exist. Read more