| The New World | |
| Thirty Minutes | p. 3 |
| Things I Know and Don't Know About My Father | p. 9 |
| Fairfax County Jail: R Cells | p. 13 |
| Will You Accept This Call? | p. 19 |
| Halfway to Hell | p. 24 |
| A Need for Space | p. 29 |
| The Meaning of a Tattoo | p. 40 |
| Running from Trouble | p. 44 |
| The Tale of a High School Diploma | p. 53 |
| Joseph's Hand | p. 62 |
| Another Bullet to the Brain | p. 69 |
| The Forgiveness Parade | p. 75 |
| Penalties and Broken Illusions | p. 77 |
| Transfer | p. 83 |
| Running Toward the Past | |
| A Different Kind of Road Trip | p. 91 |
| An Old Story | p. 97 |
| Prison 101: SRC, an Intro | p. 104 |
| The Mathematics of Reunions and a Nation | p. 110 |
| Names and Naming | p. 119 |
| Finally, the Knowledge or Something Close to It | p. 126 |
| Another Trip in the Wrong Direction | p. 134 |
| Weed | p. 142 |
| The People I Knew | p. 147 |
| The Cost of a Knife | p. 156 |
| Fishing from the Hole | p. 159 |
| We Never Know | |
| Fifteen Hours to a Super Max | p. 173 |
| How to Make a Knife in Prison | p. 177 |
| Sussex 1 State Prison | p. 184 |
| Back in the Hole | p. 191 |
| A Pile of Hair Around My Feet | p. 198 |
| Drinking Age | p. 205 |
| Names | p. 211 |
| Most of the Way Home | p. 213 |
| The Color Line | p. 221 |
| Pronouncing the Word Soledad | p. 228 |
| Every Admission Amounts to This | p. 230 |
| Epilogue | p. 234 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 239 |