About The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place

Jarvis Jay Masters's early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack, alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft, armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guard--a conviction which landed him on death row, where he's been since 1990.

At the time of his murder trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing exercises which he repeatedly refused. Until desperation moved him to ask her how to do "that meditation shit." With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masters's gradual but profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counseled high school kids by mail, and helped prisoners--and even guards--find meaning in their lives.

Along the way, Masters becomes drawn to the principles that Buddhism espouses--compassion, sacrifice, and living in the moment--and he gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide, including many of the faith's most renowned practitioners. And while he is still in San Quentin and still on death row, he is a renowned Buddhist thinker who shows us how to ease our everyday suffering, relish the light that surrounds us, and endure the tragedies that befall us all. (Simon & Schuster)

David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction, Clean, Game Over, All We Are Saying, and other books. David is on the advisory boards of the Jed and Clinton Health Matters Campus Program, designed to help colleges and universities promote emotional wellbeing and mental health programming, reduce substance abuse and prevent suicide among their students, and the International Bipolar Foundation. He recently launched the Beautiful Boy Fund, devoted to making quality, evidence-based treatment available to people who need it and identifying and supporting research to further the field of addiction medicine. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. David lives with his family in Northern California.

David Sheff discusses "The Buddhist on Death Row"