"This Side of Freedom: Life After Clemency" is a riveting, compelling tale about the life of activist, writer and artist Anthony Papa. He tells firsthand of his experience of returning home after serving 12 years of a 15-to-life sentence for a non-violent drug crime sentenced under the mandatory provisions of the Rockefeller Drug Laws of New York State. In 2016 he received a pardon from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and becomes the first person in NYS history to receive both clemency (Gov. George Pataki 1997) and a pardon. When he was released Papa says that the freedom he fought so hard to get, smacked him swiftly in the face, overpowering him. He struggles with his freedom while fighting to free those he left behind. Papa goes through heart-wrenching trials and tribulations as he seeks to end the war on drugs and save those he left behind. Along the way he meets an array of individuals from famous movie stars to politicians and the very rich, enlisting their help in doing away with mass incarceration and draconian sentencing laws that have destroyed America's criminal justice system. The 2nd Edition published October of 2016 is illustrated with beautiful pen & ink drawings by Papa. This book was recently accepted by Department of Corrections Commissioner Anthony Annucci and placed in all 54 general libraries in NYS prisons as it was deemed to be a useful resource and guide for general population inmates as they contemplate the challenges that lie ahead when they are released to the community. The Wall Street Journal - Dec. 30th , 2016 "Anthony Papa, who was pardoned Friday, was convicted of drug charges in1985. While he has been out of prison since 1997, he said he views the pardon as a vindication. It also removes some barriers that come with a criminal record... FOX 5 News - Reporter Jenn Lahmers " Anthony Papa is an example of how the presidential pardoning system works well. In the mid 80s Papa was strapped for cash and described doing what he said was the biggest mistake of his life-- agreeing to run an envelope with 4.5 oz of cocaine to someone he had never met. It turns out that someone was a participant in an undercover police sting, Papa was arrested and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. While at Sing-Sing he earned a degree and read as many books as he could. In 1997 he was pardoned by Gov. Pataki and for the last 10 years has remained one of the state's biggest advocates against mass incarceration... The Stone Cold Truth Radio Show - Roger Stone famous political advisor and #1 author on the NY Times best selling interviewed Tony Papa says: "This Side of Freedom is a terrific piece of work. I am very excited about it and wish everyone can read it!" The New York Daily News 1/9/17 - Governor Andrew Cuomo says " "He is a living example of the inequities in the system that existed due to the Rockefeller-era drug laws and has spent more than a decade working in the pursuit of justice for others. The power of clemency is one I take very seriously, and Tony Papa's work and deeds made it clear to me he was deserving of a pardon." ALTERNET How the Stroke of a Pen by a Governor Can Completely Change a Prisoner's Life -- Just Ask Tony Papa The power to commute prison sentences is rarely exercised,but can generate powerful results when it is, as Papa shares in his new book. By Phillip Smith / AlterNet February 6, 2017 This Side ofFreedom is one part memoir, one part social history, one part heart-feltmanifesto. Papa is an effective, engaging writer who tells his story indiscrete episodes and has a knack for jumping from the personal to thepolitical like a quivering quantum particle. You'll meet a range of colorfulcharacters and experience the gamut of human emotion--the highs, the lows, theennui--as you follow Papa's path.His is one portrait of life in turn-of-the-21stCentury America: mindless cruelty and brutality, mixed with racial injustice,but leavened with the will to resist. Read and ask yourself: How many otherTony Papas are out there, watching their lives tick away as they're locked inthe cells, when they could be out here helping the rest of us make our world abetter, more just and humane place? Soon to become a feature film as it was recently optioned!  I wrote this book because I wanted to address the need to write a book that would provide information about returning to society after serving a longtime in prison. Carrying the stigma of being an ex-offender is often debilitating, from being denied employment and housing, to not knowing how to establish healthy relationships, life becomes exceedingly difficult. In addition, maintaining that freedom is no easy task  with the haunting memories of past imprisonment. I realized that after serving a tremendous amount of time in prison upon release my prison life was deeply rooted into my present existence.  I had a decade of life in an environment where survival mechanisms and behaviors were hardwired into daily existence. Being hardw