That Bird Has My Wings: An Oprah's Book Club Pick

That Bird Has My Wings is the astounding memoir of death row inmate Jarvis Masters and a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit and the talent of a fine writer. Offering scenes from his life that are at times poignant, revelatory, frightening, soul-stirring, painful, funny, and uplifting, That Bird Has My Wings tells the story of the author’s childhood with parents addicted to heroin, an abusive foster family, a life of crime and imprisonment, and the eventual embracing of Buddhism. |

Jarvis Jay Masters has taken an extraordinary journey of faith. Strangely enough, his moment of enlightenment came behind the bars of San Quentin's death row. In this compelling memoir, inmate and author Jarvis Jay Masters takes us from the arms of his heroin-addicted mother to an abusive foster home, on his escape to the illusory freedom of the streets and through lonely nights spent in bus stations and juvenile homes, and finally to life inside the walls of San Quentin State Prison. Using the nub and filler from a ballpoint pen (the only writing instrument allowed him in solitary confinement), Masters chronicles the story of a bright boy who turns to a life of crime, and of a penitent man who embraces Buddhism to find hope in this ultimately inspirational story.

Masters has written his remarkable story as a cautionary tale for anyone who might be tempted to follow in his footsteps, and as a plea for under-standing to a world that too often ignores the plight of the forgotten members of society. His personal story dramatically reminds us all that freedom and opportunity are not to be taken for granted, and that no matter what their neighborhood, no matter what their race, every child matters.

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The compassionate act of self-discovery captured in “That Bird Has My Wings” is one that, will reach well beyond the confines of one cell, one act, or one person - and inspire many. - San Francisco Chronicle

“This brave account of a childhood ravaged by neglect, violence, and institutional indifference is remarkable for its utter lack of anger and bitterness. . . Here, he recounts in utilitarian but not unlovely prose a boyhood marked by unthinkable brutality, starting with parents who were both heroin addicts. He never uses his story to excuse himself; indeed, his regret over his past crimes is palpable. Instead, Masters serves up his own life as a cautionary tale to those with the power to protect children from the kind of domestic and institutional abuse he suffered. Despite the title, the events that sent him to death row get only the briefest mention; Masters’s conversion to Buddhism in San Quentin has brought him solace and clarity. VERDICT A heartbreaking memoir; the brutal conditions of Masters’s boyhood will be difficult for some readers to take, but his ultimate message of hope and reconciliation is moving and inspiring. Highly recommended.” - Library Journal

“This brave account of a childhood ravaged by neglect, violence, and institutional indifference is remarkable for its utter lack of anger and bitterness. . . [Masters’s] ultimate message of hope and reconciliation is moving and inspiring. Highly recommended.” - Library Journal

“That Bird Has My Wings is a powerful narrative of a life lost on the streets, and then found again in a prison cell on San Quentin’s death row. This is not a book about guilt or innocence, but about the possibility of redemption.” - Lion's Roar

“Masters’ incisive unearthing of his past is a graceful and ultimately liberating story.” - Lion's Roar

That Bird Has My Wings absolutely soars.” - Insight News

As Masters moves from foster homes to juvie to prison, you start to understand how badly the system fails kids like him. . . .a page-turner. - San Francisco magazine

Masters’ intelligent, incisive prose paints a compelling depiction of the horrors leading to his situation. . . . while awaiting execution, Masters gives us much to think about. - Booklist

Forthright about his own failings, Masters’ truth has brought him reconciliation with his best self. His compelling memoir is a plea for reform, for a common humanity, and I share his hope that this moving story will redouble our efforts to make sure that every child matters. - Desmond Tutu

“In this polished tale that belies the author’s raw origins, Masters, who has been imprisoned on San Quentin’s death row since 1990 and become a devout Buddhist, recalls the neglect, abuse and cycle of crime and hopelessness that relegated him to prison by age 19 . . . a frank, heartfelt rendering of a young life that should have mattered.” - Publishers Weekly

“In this polished tale that belies the author’s raw origins, Masters, who has been imprisoned on San Quentin’s death row since 1990 . . . recalls the neglect, abuse and cycle of crime and hopelessness that relegated him to prison by age 19.” - Publishers Weekly

“Masters’ intelligent, incisive prose paints a compelling depiction of the horrors leading to his situation . . . Masters gives us much to think about.” - Booklist

In poignant prose, That Bird Has My Wings shows first-hand how children trapped in poverty don’t have many choices. Born into an environment of crime, raised in a broken system of foster care and juvenile halls, Jarvis Jay Masters was set on a dangerous course which eventually brought him to San Quentin’s death row. Somehow, within those walls, he has shown remorse and demonstrates the divine grace he has received by the courageous way he now lives his daily life, by the kind acts he performs, and by the cautionary tale he shares within these pages. This amazing, wise man deserves our ear, and our support. - --Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

Jarvis Jay Masters was set on a dangerous course which eventually brought him to death row. Somehow, within those walls, he now demonstrates divine grace in his daily life and by the cautionary tale he shares within these pages. This amazing, wise man deserves our ear, and our support. - --Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

The book of Ecclesiastes tells us there is “a time to every purpose under the heavens….” If so, Jarvis Jay Masters’ purpose is clearly to survive and teach. His ability to emerge alive from a childhood of horror, depravity, degradation and debasement beggars the imagination. His ability to cling to a faint glimmer of hope even as torture is rained on his formative years is the stuff of heroes. His ability to recognize, subdue and transform the self-destructive drive such life-denying forces promote is a lesson for us all. His time is now. His book is a testament to the human spirit. - Mike Farrell, chair of Death Penalty Focus and author of Just Call Me Mike:A Journey to Actor and Activist and From Mule to Man

Masters’ . . .ability to recognize, subdue and transform the self-destructive drive such life-denying forces promote is a lesson for us all. His time is now. His book is a testament to the human spirit.” - Mike Farrell, chair of Death Penalty Focus and author of Just Call Me Mike:A Journey to Actor and Activist and From Mule to Man

“A gripping indictment of poverty and the foster-care system.” - Kirkus Reviews

A heartbreaking memoir; the brutal conditions of Masters’s boyhood will be difficult for some readers to take, but his ultimate message of hope and reconciliation is moving and inspiring. Highly recommended. - Library Journal

All across America, boys are lost to trauma and deprivation. Few of them have given voice to their experience and the redemptive power of spirituality as has Jarvis Jay Masters. - James Garbarino, Ph.D., author of Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and What We Can Do About It

African Americans are seven times more likely to go to jail than whites; youth of color represent two-thirds of our country’s juvenile inmates. Jarvis Jay Masters’ moving memoir provides an intimate portrait of this tragic inequality. It testifies to the need for better education, greater training, and increased opportunity to keep these forgotten youth from ending up in our nation’s juvenile centers and prisons. Read this book! - Van Jones, founder , The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights & Green for All, and author of Green Collar Economy

Jarvis Jay Masters’ moving memoir provides an intimate portrait of the tragic racial inequality in our justice system, and testifies to the need for better education, greater training, and increased opportunity to keep these forgotten youth from ending up in our nation’s juvenile centers and prisons. Read this book! - Van Jones, founder, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights & Green for All, and author of Green Collar Economy

That Bird Has My Wings is a real-life The Wire--heartbreaking and harrowing, impossible to put down. Masters writes his journey from unthinkable violence to grace with honesty, poetry, and revelation. This book would be a miraculous accomplishment for any writer, even if it had not been written from inside San Quentin Prison. It captivates, instructs, and inspires as Masters chronicles his hellish childhood, accepts responsibility for the injuries he caused, and shows how enlightenment can occur even in a place as grim as death row. Masters writes, “that bird has my wings,” but as this brave book attests, he has found his wings. - David Sheff, author of Beautiful Boy

A real-life The Wire-heartbreaking and harrowing, impossible to put down. A miraculous accomplishment, That Bird Has My Wings captivates, instructs, and inspires as Masters shows how enlightenment can occur even in a place as grim as San Quentin Prison’s death row. - David Sheff, author of Beautiful Boy

Brave, heartbreaking, redemptive and wise. Jarvis Jay Masters has turned his life into remarkable good medicine. - Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

Jarvis Masters’ words and stories burn with the flames of a heart-stopping honesty and compassion. They show how spiritual practice and meditation can change a life completely, and speak of the triumph of the human heard over even the deepest desperation of Death Row. - Sogyal Rinpoche, Author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

All across America, boys are lost to trauma and deprivation. Few of them have given voice to their experience and the redemptive power of spirituality as has Jarvis Jay Masters. When faced with life in prison, each person must choose between living as a savage or as a monk. The choice Jarvis made speaks volumes about the human spirit. - James Garbarino, Ph.D., author of Lost Boys: Why Our Sons turn Violent and What We Can Do About It