The Prison Monastery is written for policymakers, prison administration, reform advocates, and anyone concerned with the societal and financial costs of current prison systems, advocating for a paradigm shift—from punitive punishment to a holistic, cost-effective approach that prioritizes restoration, introspection, and personal transformation.

(PRUnderground) October 23rd, 2024

Groundbreaking author and liberation advocate Nicole Daedone is pleased to announce the release of her new book, The Prison Monastery: A Proposal for a More Human & Economical Approach to Prisons, released earlier this week. Offering a fresh and radical perspective on transforming prison systems around the world, author Nicole Daedone’s thought-provoking work introduces a unique fusion of contemplative practices inspired by monastic life with a practical, economic model for reforming prisons to their original intent of “penitence.” In addition to the model, the book details how this program has already been successfully implemented in two institutions.

The Prison Monastery is written for policymakers, prison administration, reform advocates, and anyone concerned with the societal and financial costs of current prison systems, advocating for a paradigm shift—from punitive punishment to a holistic, cost-effective approach that prioritizes restoration, introspection, and personal transformation.

“Many programs focus on rehabilitating individuals; we instead are interested in rehabilitating the systems that house the people, such that healing is a natural byproduct,” says Daedone. “When you shift the intention from punishment to discovery, the result is iterative: you provide the incarcerated with the tools necessary to not only not cause harm but to contribute.”

In The Prison Monastery, Daedone argues for a new model of incarceration that can be applied today using existing infrastructure, schedules, classifications and staffing. Prisons and the activities within them transform into environments that mirror the structure of monastic communities. Rather than isolation, deprivation, and control, this model provides for  internal reflection, contemplation, connection with the body, and purposeful work. In these environments, incarcerated residents are offered the resources to reflect on what brought them to prison, develop valuable skills, and prepare for reintegration into society as productive citizens. The Prison Monastery includes necessary programming for the correctional officers, titled From Guards To Guardians, providing officers the tools to transform the traumas and pains they’ve endured through today’s broken system into a creative spark that both heals the officers and their families, while engendering the necessary inspiration to transform the system.

The Prison Monastery: A Proposal for an Economical Approach to Incarceration Reform can be purchased on Amazon.

Praise for The Prison Monastery:

“The Prison Monastery is not a prison program. It is a prison model.  An entirely new way of conducting accountability and healing, using the same infrastructures, staff, and schedules that exist today.” –Dr. Topeka K Sam, nationally recognized advocate for criminal justice reform

About the Author
Nicole Daedone is an author, activist and creator. She created the Prison Monastery, a novel approach to incarceration which has now been adopted in person and remotely in prisons across the county and studied by over 50,000 incarcerated participants. In all her work she focuses on her ability to turn poison to medicine as she looks at how to transform people and institutions into their highest potentials. Known for her visionary ideas, Daedone has dedicated her life efforts to human flourishing, radically re-envisioning the prison environment and the world.

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Original Press Release.