Godsta

His Bags of Books Help Prisoners Learn A Better Way

Rich Dowling entered the lobby of the Morris County Correctional Facility recently, a tote bag brimming with self-help books in each hand. They are for the inmates, and they have titles such as “Anger: How to Live With It and Without It” and “As You Thinketh.”

“They're looking to correct behavior here,” said the 57-year-old licensed professional counselor, as he placed the bags in a security scanner before proceeding into the jail. “But to correct your behavior, you have to change your thinking.”

Self-defeating thoughts— some embedded in the subconscious since childhood— can cluster into beliefs, fuel emotions and adversely impact lives, according to Dowling. Reading books, and therapy, can be examined, abandoned and replaced with life-affirming alternatives.

For years, Dowling's goal has been to get self-help titles into as many prisons, jails and related facilities as possible. In 2004 his efforts were formalized when he and three partners— Susan Akers, his wife; Barry Grant and Darlene Smith— created Books Behind Bars and Beyond, which has sent books to facilities in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona, Indiana and Scotland.Grant benefited from Dowling's early efforts. He was serving time at East Jersey State Prison in Rahway from 2001, he said, when a guy in the prison yard told him about S.M.A.R.T. Recovery, an option to Alcoholics Anonymous that emphasizes self-reliance and thought management. Grant called Dowling, a founding board member of S.M.A.R.T., which stands for Self-Management And Recovery Training. At the time the men were strangers.

“Rich took money ot of his own pocket and sent me books,” Grant recalled. “As I read I needed someone to go over things. Rich never hesitated to accept a collect call from me. Then he visited me at Rahway and we talked. Through glass, but we talked. He is a wonderful individual with a vision.”

In the books Grant learned behavior is learned and can be unlearned and relearned. One day he was stopped cold by a quote from Epicttetus, an ancient Greek philosopher.

“It was ‘People are disturbed not by things, but by their view of things,”’ Grant recalled. His inner life pivot on the insight. “I realized, it's all about my perspective.”

Today he is a certified alcohol and drug counselor working toward a master's degree in human services.

Though Dowling has never had a life of crime, he was dependent on alcohol, tobacco and caffeine as a young man, he said. His life had drifted. Out of college, he worked in auto mechanics and summer theater. He was a VISTA volunteer in South Dakota.

At 34, Dowling realized his addictions had something in common: They helped him ease the discomfort of guilt, anxiety, depression and anger, as well as the discomfort of withdrawal. He challenged his thoughts. He explored how he was hurting himself by not accepting life as it is and how the ego can drive negative feelings. Soon after, he married and took a job in social services. In 1990 he earned a master's degree in counseling and chose a specialty in addiction.

He hit his stride and has not stopped. Today in The Thought Exchange, his private practice in Morristown, he works with people struggling with any addiction, from eating to alcohol to overwork. They are all in prison, he said. A prison with bars made of thoughts.

More: To donate to Books Behind Bars and Beyond or to reach Rich Dowling, visit www.booksbehindbarsandbeyond.org or www.thethoughtexchange.biz.

“Human Interests” appears every Sunday and other days of the week from time to time. In each column Lorraine Ash explores interesting angles on local life that may otherwise escape attention. Reader mail is welcome at lvash@gannett.com.