After Bill Dallas was sent to prison for economic crimes related to his real estate and development business, his life entered a tailspin. Though Dallas had initiated a relationship with God prior to being sent to prison, his fledgling faith wasn’t enough to prevent him from plunging into despair and hopelessness.

It was only after developing relationships with the “Lifers” at San Quentin prison that he was able to learn from their example, re-modeling his life after the example they provided. Lessons from San Quentin shares Dallas’ experiences in prison and how they worked to reshape his character. The first portion of each chapter shares his experiences, and the positive examples set for him by prisoners more mature in the faith; the second half relates how everyone can apply what Dallas learned in prison to their own lives.

The lessons Dallas relates are eminently practical, and while we won’t all be faced with living in such cramped quarters and such bland food, we all encounter deserts of the spirit wherein we need to struggle through in order to move on to the plans God has for our future.

At times it does seem that Dallas is becoming somewhat repetitive and stretching out his observations to fill the pages, but there is a great deal of inspiration here. The writing is accessible, and very readable; somewhat reminiscent of a gift book, you won’t need to struggle to grasp these lessons.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com ( )