Overview

The riveting true story of one man's extraordinary transformation from bank robber to meditation teacher and award-winning artist. Troy Bridges was born in South Carolina to poor, abusive, alcoholic parents who rarely stayed in one place for long. He tried to escape this chaos by joining the Marine Corps at 18, but a final betrayal by his parents left him believing he had to go AWOL. Feeling he had no one to turn to and nowhere to go, he began drifting through a series of increasingly bad life choices that ultimately led him to robbing banks. Troy never used violence or carried a weapon. Instead he would dress in a thrift-store suit and hand the bank teller a note. Fleeing the bank, he would discard the suit and live a life of leisure for weeks or months-however long it took the money to run out. When he was arrested he'd escape and repeat the whole cycle, until one day he happened to find a book abandoned in a prison corridor that changed him, and he began to ask himself why his life had ended up the way it had. And he began to meditate. Filled with vivid characters and unflinching honesty, Spiral is the story of how Troy not only transformed himself from recidivist criminal to model prisoner, but found redemption through service to others and became a messenger of peace in the midst of an often brutal prison system.

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9780998770925

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I have been extremely impressed by Troy's ability to turn a life of adversity and subsquently very poor choices into a life dedicated to emotional maturity and service to others. Robin Casarjian--author Houses of Healing and executive director of the Lionheart Foundation Bridges has accomplished more as an incarcerated individual than most people accomplish in their lifetimes. He has not only rehabilitated himself but has rehabilitated others. Jon Mark Weathers--Circuit Court Judge, Forest County, Mississippi

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"Given Troy Bridges' childhood, ""author"" is perhaps the least likely title one would expect to find attached to his name. He was born in 1948 to severely alcoholic parents who moved frequently, were usually broke, often abusive, and occasionally tender. When Troy emerged from this chaotic upbringing he almost managed to stay with a hitch in the Marines, but a final betrayal by his parents sent him AWOL. Following this came a period in which he often supported himself by robbing banks. Although he was jailed many times he always escaped-until he didn't. At that point he began wondering why his life turned out the way it did. Troy's self-reflection, assisted by meditation techniques he learned from a book he chanced to pick up in a prison corridor, allowed him to transform his life. He now leads meditation groups for other prisoners and expresses himself through painting. Spiral is his first book. Deemed a nonviolent offender, he is due to be released in 2030."

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