After the Gate: A Wisconsin Reentry Guide for Staying Free

The prison gate can open in seconds. Learning how to stay free takes much longer.After more than twenty years of incarceration, Michael "Skully" Winius returned to a world that had moved on without him. Smartphones had become computers. Children had become adults. Familiar towns had changed. Bills arrived faster than paychecks, supervision rules reached into ordinary family life, and prison habits followed him home.No prerelease class had adequately prepared him for all of it.AFTER THE GATE is the honest reentry guide Winius wishes someone had handed him before his release. Written as though he were sitting across from someone the night before freedom-and refusing to lie-this book confronts the realities that inspirational speeches and outdated worksheets often overlook.Drawing on decades of incarceration, three releases to the community, extensive education, law-firm employment, entrepreneurship, community supervision, personal failures, and hard-earned success, Winius addresses: - The first hours, days, and months after release - Probation, parole, extended supervision, and conditional freedom - Prison habits, anxiety, hypervigilance, and mental health - Reconnecting with children, partners, family, and friends - Learning smartphones, computers, applications, and online services - Recognizing scams, fraudulent profiles, subscriptions, and hidden fees - Finding-and keeping-employment with a criminal record - Managing rent, utilities, transportation, supervision fees, and nonstop bills - Dating, loneliness, validation, pornography, and social media - Documenting communications, permissions, appointments, and allegations - Responding honestly to violations, setbacks, and bad decisions - Building a legitimate business and creating a life worth protectingAlthough grounded in Wisconsin experiences and resources, the lessons reach anyone confronting life after incarceration-as well as the families, friends, professionals, and community members trying to support them.This is not a promise that everything will be fine. It is not legal advice, therapy, or another lecture from someone who has never lived behind the walls.It is a practical warning, an honest conversation, and a challenge: Your past may place you inside a statistic. It does not have to decide where you finish.Freedom will feel good.Staying free will require work.