Shaun Atwood studied business in Phoenix, Arizona, and went on to become a millionaire day trader—but he also led a double life. A fan of the Manchester rave scene, Attwood headed an organization that threw raves and distributed club drugs. While incarcerated, he submerged himself in literature—reading 268 books in 2006 alone, including many classics. He regularly speaks to audiences of young people about the perils of drugs and the horrors of prison life. His website is www.shaunattwood.com.
Anthony “Tony” Papa is an activist and the author of 15 to Life. Papa was given a fifteen-year sentence to Sing Sing, New York State’s maximum-security prison, after being convicted of his first drug offense. In prison, he discovered painting, and when the Whitney Museum exhibited one of his paintings, Governor Pataki got wind of his case. After twelve hard years of time, Anthony Papa was granted clemency. He now works for the Drug Policy Alliance as a communications specialist.
Anne Mini completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard, earned a master’s at the University of Chicago, and received a doctorate from the University of Washington. After four years teaching Plato and Confucius to college students, she left academia in order to pursue writing and editing full-time.

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