Happy 2023 to all you wonderful readers, writers, artists, followers, friends, associates, colleagues, and the curious. Welcome to the first issue of the new year! As is our tradition at The Beat Within, we will showcase all the covers from our past year of 2022. We truly had plenty of amazing artists sharing their talents with The Beat Within community, and we anticipate more of the same going into this new year. If you see a cover you might have missed, please do not hesitate to reach out to us and request the issue you need. As always, OT is
Continue ReadingReasons To Be Thankful
by D, Sacramento This topic made me think a little about the people in my life, who I may not openly appreciate. I am thankful for a lot of things and a lot of people, but only me and God know when it comes to it. The person who I am most thankful for is my granny. She stepped into my life as a motherly figure since I didn’t have one. Of course, it wasn’t the same because instead of being too focused on specifically one child, she had to focus on her seven children who are adults and her
Continue ReadingBike Riding
by Jessi, San Mateo I usually ride my bike almost every morning at three AM to the bust stop by the gas station. I go to the gym and then ride my bike back home by nine to get ready for school. I used to have a black and red cruiser with a cushioned seat. I didn’t mind the heaviness of the bike because it was easier on my backside whereas the old bike I use now has a seat hard as rocks. I remember asking my mother how to ride a bike when I was younger. I had seen
Continue ReadingGift of Words to Succeed
by Psmacks, San Francisco I wouldn’t say it’s a gift of words but I would say this is some information to help you succeed in this lifetime. You don’t have to play the game you see everybody else playing. Now, reread that sentence, don’t let that go over your head. What I mean by that is this new generation base their life off of what everybody else is doing in the moment. Yeah, you might be that guy everybody praises but really think about it. After a while, people will forget about you once somebody else do the same thing
Continue ReadingPutting My Plan’s Into Action
by Robert Guerra, Salinas Valley State Prison, Soledad, CA Hello Beat Within readers! I hope this finds you all well and in good health! I was just sitting here thinking to myself on all the positive things I want to do in life! One thing I would like to do is write a book on self-help so I can help others do better in life. Yeah, we all have done some type of wrong in life, but have you ever thought about how you’re going to pay society back for the wrong you have done or maybe paying it forward?
Continue ReadingInsight
by Mr. Francisco “Frank” Gonzalez, RJ Donovan State Prison, San Diego, CA “It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.”- MLK The other day, I was sitting in my anger management group wondering how do you cram 27 years of an incarcerated life into a few hours of a BPH (Board). Then I looked up to see the above quote. I then realized, I have to sincerely apologize to everybody for the harm I have caused and for the gathering I doubt people were jumping out of bed for, and for that I truly was sorry. As
Continue Reading
Volume 27.47/48
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 27.47/48
Season Greetings friends and lovers of The Beat Within. We truly appreciate all your support in helping us be the best possible program we can be. 26 years and counting, what a journey! We are totally grateful for what you courageously bring to the table, if you are a writer, an artist, a facilitator, typist, supporter or community partner. We could not do this work without you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you do. This is truly a team effort. What you have in your hands is our year end issue. 50 weeks of writing
Continue ReadingThank You Mom and Dad
by Isabella, San Francisco The first person I would like to thank is my mom. Honestly my mom is one of the best things in my life. I remember before my mom it was just me and my dad. It was hard for my dad to raise a kid like me on his own so when my mom came into our life I finally had a woman/mother figure to look up to. Honestly I don’t know what I would do without her. Second, I would like to thank my dad. My dad met me when I was a baby at
Continue ReadingQuite a Few Things
by GR, Santa Clara What motivates me to try to do better is quite a few things. I’ve been just doing me for a while dealing with my circumstances, but all it’s done is end me in here and cause me to lose a lot of people due to my actions. I’m tryin’ to do better for my younger brothers so they could learn right from wrong and so I could be there in they life. I’m tryin’ to change my ways and ignore the BS that’s just gone hold me back from succeeding. For me, it’s about respect and
Continue Reading