My journey through reentry is just one story among millions. While I’ve shared my experiences across RC Journey, I’ve always known that the path I’ve walked doesn’t represent every returning citizen’s reality. Some face challenges I never encountered. Others have discovered strategies and insights I’m still learning. The landscape of reentry is as varied as the individuals navigating it, and that diversity of experience holds invaluable wisdom.
This section exists to amplify those other voices. Fellow Travelers is a space dedicated to the stories, reflections, and hard-won knowledge of returning citizens who are walking their own roads home. Here, the microphone belongs to those who have lived it, who continue to live it, and who have something real to say about what it takes to build a life after incarceration.
No single narrative can capture the complexity of reentry. The barriers vary by state, by background, by resources available, by the nature of one’s conviction, and by countless other factors. A woman reentering society faces different challenges than a man. Someone returning to a supportive family has a different road than someone with nowhere to go. A person convicted of a violent crime navigates different stigmas than someone with a drug conviction.
By sharing multiple perspectives, we create a more complete picture of what reentry actually looks like. We move beyond stereotypes and simplistic narratives into the messy, honest reality of what it takes to come home. Each voice adds depth, challenges assumptions, and offers strategies that might resonate with someone facing similar circumstances.
The pieces in this section are written by returning citizens at various stages of their journeys. Some are fresh out, still navigating the disorientation of those first months. Others are years into successful reintegration, looking back with the clarity that distance provides. All are honest accounts of what works, what doesn’t, and what it feels like to rebuild a life from the ground up.
You’ll find reflections on practical challenges: finding housing, securing employment, managing relationships, dealing with parole requirements, and navigating the daily friction of living in a world that often seems designed to keep you out. But you’ll also find deeper explorations of identity, healing, purpose, and the internal work required to truly come home.
Reentry can be isolating. The general population doesn’t understand what you’ve been through, and the people still inside can’t relate to the challenges you face now. Fellow Travelers exists to break that isolation by creating space for real connection among those who share this particular road.
These aren’t success stories designed to inspire or cautionary tales meant to warn. They’re honest accounts from people doing the work, facing the reality, and finding their way forward. Some days are victories. Some days are defeats. All of it matters, and all of it deserves to be shared.
If you’re a returning citizen with something to say about your reentry experience, this space is for you. Whether you’re documenting your first week of freedom or reflecting on a decade of rebuilding, your perspective matters. Your struggles matter. Your insights matter.
For those who aren’t returning citizens, these pieces offer a window into a world most never see and many misunderstand. Read with an open mind. Challenge your assumptions. Recognize the humanity and resilience required to walk this road.
We’re all fellow travelers on this journey, even if our paths look different. Welcome to the conversation.