Changemaker Spotlight: Chris Young, Author of “The Wound Is Where the Light Enters: A Memoir of Resilience”

By Robert Roche, VP of Marketing at The Last Mile.

Twenty-two years old. For many people, that’s the age of college graduations, first careers, and imagining the future.

For Chris Young, it was the age he was arrested by the FBI and DEA in Clarksville, Tennessee. Years later, after spending years in jail awaiting trial, he stood before a federal judge knowing there was almost nothing anyone in the courtroom could do to stop what came next: two mandatory life sentences in federal prison without the possibility of parole.

How does someone return from that trajectory?

Months ago, while scrolling Instagram, I came across a video of Chris discussing his upcoming memoir, The Wound Is Where the Light Enters. Chris was discussing philosophy, economics, history, neuroscience, public policy, and hope with remarkable clarity. He wasn’t speaking with bitterness or vitriol; He was inviting people into a larger conversation about human potential.

I couldn’t stop watching his videos. Eventually I reached out, hoping he might be willing to share his story for Changemaker Spotlight. Our conversation lasted nearly thirty minutes, and by the end of it I understood why so many people—from former federal judge Kevin Sharp, to Kim Kardashian, Van Jones, and countless others—believed Chris Young was someone worth fighting for.

Chris Young Was Born Into Pain—But Refused To Stay There

Chris often says his struggle with adversity didn’t begin in prison. It began the day he was born.

“I came out the womb immediately to pain,” he told me. Born with sickle cell anemia, he spent his earliest years battling debilitating physical pain before childhood trauma began to shape the rest of his life.

His mother struggled with crack cocaine addiction. For nearly two years, Chris and his brother lived without electricity or running water before being taken in by a neighborhood woman everyone called “Big Mama.” Even then, poverty remained constant.

“I still had to go to school with holes in my shoes,” he recalled. “Big enough for my big toe and two other toes to slide out the front.”

His older brother began selling drugs to survive, and Chris followed.

Everything became worse after his brother, unable to overcome addiction and trauma despite repeatedly asking for help, died by suicide.

“There was no counseling,” Chris said. “There was no grief therapy… The only thing that was readily available to me was the streets.”

At twenty-two, he was arrested. At twenty-six, he was sentenced to two life terms.

A Prison Library Became A Portal To New Opportunity

One of my favorite moments from our conversation came when Chris described discovering a set of encyclopedias while sitting in a county jail library.

“Reading for me was an escape that provided answers,” he said. “They called my attention… and when I opened them, they gave me a portal to leave the county jail and go to any world I wanted to.”

That curiosity never stopped. Chris taught himself philosophy, economics, history, public policy, and even Python programming—without access to a computer.

“I had access to the language,” he said. “I taught myself everything I could about Python.”

Listening to him describe this process reminded me of many graduates from The Last Mile’s earliest coding classes. Before laptops were allowed in housing units, students filled notebooks with handwritten code, returning to class the next day simply to test what they had imagined the night before.

Different circumstances, yet the same hunger to learn—and the same implications for a renewed future after incarceration.

Why Chris Young Wrote “The Wound Is Where the Light Enters”

Chris began writing his memoir while sitting in solitary confinement. His sentence had finally been reduced from life imprisonment to fourteen years, yet because of COVID restrictions he wasn’t transferred to a lower-security facility. Instead, he was placed in “the hole.”

“It’s called the hole for a reason,” he said. “You can’t see outside… and while in there, I wanted to preserve the record.”

In his solitary environment, the book rapidly became more than autobiography.

“I wanted to tell the story that’s not only my personal story,” he explained, “but the story for too many young men and women… who unfortunately were discarded and thrown away like a piece of trash.”

Today, Chris has earned degrees in economics and public policy from Southern Methodist University, founded a consulting firm, and is beginning a national book tour surrounding the release of his memoir.

Chris Young Is Just Getting Started

Toward the end of our conversation, I asked Chris what he would say to someone currently sitting inside prison who had lost hope. His answer was immediate.

“Your mentality equals your reality,” he said. “Everything starts out mental… your memory can be a burden and a hindrance, or it can be fuel that propels you.”

Then he surprised me. Instead of talking about his book, he thanked The Last Mile.

“I salute the work that you do,” he said. “Hope is the greatest economic factor there is… because if a human doesn’t have hope, he’s not trying to get up and go to work.”

That sentiment perfectly captured why I wanted to interview him in the first place. Chris Young has already accomplished what many people would consider impossible. He survived unimaginable circumstances, educated himself behind prison walls, earned his freedom, graduated from college, and wrote a memoir that is already drawing national attention.

I have little doubt that Chris Young will influence criminal justice reform, education, public policy, and countless individual lives in the years ahead. Wherever he chooses to invest his extraordinary intellect and humanity, people will benefit from it.

Sometimes you meet someone and sense they’re standing at the beginning of something much larger. Chris Young is one of those people.

CHANGEMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Hear Chris Young Tell His Story

Watch highlights from our interview with Chris Young and learn how he survived two life sentences, educated himself from inside prison, fought to reclaim his future, and transformed his experiences into a powerful memoir about resilience, hope, and human potential.

Watch on Instagram →

Read Chris Young’s Memoir

If Chris Young’s story moved you, now is the perfect time to experience it in full.

As a friend of The Last Mile, you can receive an exclusive 20% discount on The Wound Is Where the Light Enters: A Memoir of Resilience by ordering directly from the publisher.

Coupon Code: THELASTMILE

Use the code at checkout when you order directly from Hachette Book Group here.

Chris’s memoir is a powerful testament to resilience, redemption, and the extraordinary potential that can emerge when someone is given the opportunity to be seen as more than their worst mistake. We hope you’ll read it, share it with others, and help amplify a voice that is already changing the conversation around justice and human potential.

---

About Changemaker Spotlight

Changemaker Spotlight is a recurring series from The Last Mile highlighting the people, organizations, and leaders driving meaningful change across the criminal justice system. From advocates and researchers to employers, educators, and those with lived experience, we feature individuals whose work is creating opportunity, restoring dignity, and building a more effective path forward.

Know someone whose story deserves to be shared? We’d love to hear from you. Send your nominations to robert.roche@thelastmile.org with a brief description of their work and why they should be featured in a future Changemaker Spotlight.

By Robert Roche, VP of Marketing at The Last Mile.

Want articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to The Last Mile Marker. This is a biweekly newsletter offering in-depth insights, critical updates, and inspiring stories on criminal justice reform and second chances.