In 1995, after nearly 20 years of pastoral advocacy on Georgia's death row—and 14 years after co-founding an intentional community in downtown Atlanta with my family and formerly homeless men, women, and children, along with friends released from prison—I was struck with a highly aggressive and often fatal form of cancer. As an uninsured patient in Atlanta's public hospital, I was first told that I might live six to 18 months. But after months of surgery and chemotherapy, the cancer went into a six-year remission. Over the 22 years since then, I have had seven major surgeries, five series of chemotherapy treatments, and two regimens of radiation—the latest completed in July 2017. Through all the years, I have been prayed for by prisoners condemned to die, people who have no homes, and faithful friends and family around the country and the world.

This book is my story of struggling for life in the context of a community committed to struggling for the lives of those who face death by violence and poverty. My illness over the years has brought me close to death many times but continues to be a resource for solidarity and compassion, staying awake to God's providence and miracles, and an ever-renewed commitment to the struggle for justice and the Beloved Community.