Announcing a New Community Book Project from Dismas House of Indiana

Incarceration affects people in different ways. For some, it interrupts a life that already felt unlivable. For others, it compounds harm that was long present. Often, they do both. What remains constant is that incarceration reshapes lives far beyond the length of a sentence—reaching into bodies, relationships, and a person’s sense of belonging. This book project grows from those realities, holding space for the stories that continue after release and the work of staying connected in the wake of a system whose impact does not end at the walls.

A Book Rooted in Belonging

We are beginning a new community book project that gathers art and writing from people connected to the Dismas community—people who have lived through incarceration and reentry, and those whose lives have been shaped alongside them. This is not a book about singular narratives or easy conclusions. It is a book about many lives, held together.

Working titles like From Bars to Belonging: Narratives of Incarceration and Resilience and Held Together: The Work of Belonging in a Carceral World reflect the heart of the project. At its core, this book asks what it means to remain connected—to dignity, to community, to oneself, when systems are designed to fragment and isolate.

Inspired by Community, Made by Community

The project is inspired by the Dismas Hub mural and the truths it holds: struggle and survival, broken systems, family and separation, connection and hope, imperfection and becoming. Like the mural, this book is meant to be layered and unfinished. It does not aim to explain incarceration from the outside, but to bear witness from within lived experience.

This is not a collection of polished success stories or tidy redemption arcs. It is a book about the journey. About living in the middle of it.

Whose Voices This Book Centers

This book centers on the voices of people who have lived through incarceration and are navigating reentry. We welcome submissions from current Dismas residents, Dismas alumni, people who have been incarcerated and are reentering the community locally, and family members or loved ones whose lives have been shaped by incarceration and reentry in the South Bend area.

Community members, volunteers, or staff may submit work only if it reflects deep personal transformation shaped by close relationships, not a professional perspective. Lived experience is the priority.

What You’re Invited to Share

We welcome original work in many forms, including poetry, short stories, personal essays, reflections, letters, photography, painting, drawing, mixed media, and digital art. You do not need to be a professional artist or writer. A single moment, image, or truth is enough. You do not need to tell your whole story.

Most contributors will be allocated one to three pages in a small-format book, designed to hold many voices side by side. Shorter pieces are strongly encouraged.

Themes, Not Requirements

Possible themes include incarceration, release, and reentry; harm done and harm endured; systems that failed; family and separation; connection and care; survival; moments of kindness; hope; and what remains unfinished. These are invitations, not expectations. Your work does not need to resolve or redeem anything.

Care, Safety, and Choice

Contributors may publish under their full name, a first name, or a pseudonym. You may leave out names, places, or details that feel unsafe or too personal. Share only what feels honest and safe for you. This project is about bearing witness, not extraction.

Submissions may include difficult experiences such as trauma, addiction, violence, or loss. You do not need to describe events in detail. Share only what feels necessary.

Respecting Labor and Voice

Contributors will receive a $25 honorarium for submitting work in good faith. Contributors whose work is included in the final book will receive an additional $100 stipend. All submissions will be reviewed by a small Dismas editorial team, with edits focused on clarity and layout—not changing your voice. You will always have the opportunity to review and approve edits.

An Invitation

This book is an act of collective care. It is about staying connected—to truth, to dignity, to one another—when systems insist on separation. We invite you to share your work, encourage others to participate, and help us build something that holds many stories at once.

How to Submit

Please submit your work to Andee Huxhold at ahuxhold@dismasin.org or simply bring it to Dismas House at 521 S. St. Joseph St. in South Bend. Written submissions may be sent as Word or PDF files. Visual artwork may be submitted as high-quality photographs or scans. If you’re unable to convert your work into a digital format, bring it in as is—we’ll be happy to assist in converting it to the appropriate format for submission.