ARMED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

An ex-con turned online influencer reflects on how he overcame the poverty and dysfunction that led him to a life of crime and recidivism.

Philadelphia native Peeples grew up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood with his mother and siblings. Most people, including his mother, had jobs, though some, like his absent father and older brother Stevie, stole or sold drugs. Following in his brother's footsteps, Peeples tried his hand at petty theft, marveling at the "rush" it gave him. The police arrested him nine days after his 11th birthday for snatching a gold chain from a girl's neck. For the next six years, he was in and out of juvenile hall until he was finally arrested at age 17 for armed robbery and put into a state penitentiary. Peeples became a model prisoner and was granted an early release into a halfway house. But within a year, he was again arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to 27 years in prison. The passage of time “humbl[ed] the beast” in Peeples; gradually, he began changing the thinking that had been at the heart of his many mistakes. He journaled about his life, found role models in successful entrepreneurs and marketers like Anthony Bourdain and George Lois, and learned how to appreciate tender emotions his hardened facade had kept him from accepting. Peeples broke prison rules to start a social media page to help others stay out of prison. Though punished for his actions, he was eventually released by a prison board who understood that his potential to help others like himself was “endless.” Peeples’ many followers will no doubt appreciate this book, as will anyone seeking to forge a meaningful path from adversity to success.

Candid and uplifting.