Eddie's criminal career began at nine years old. Between the ages of fourteen and twenty-nine he spent eleven years behind bars with convictions for assault, theft and robbery. The phrase 'miss-spent youth' doesn't do Eddie justice. The final straw came during one prison term when an officer waited until Christmas Day to read him a letter from his wife, a letter telling him she was leaving him. Feeling as though he had nothing left in life Eddie reacted in the only way he knew how - violently. Not long after Eddie received a visit from a Christian minister. His message of new beginnings and forgiveness for past sins awoke something in him. Eddie realised that his old life was going no where, he needed a new direction so he trusted and believed the good news of Jesus Christ. From that moment on his life has never been the same. The change in Eddie's life has been so profound as to challenge the cynics who scoff at 'jailhouse conversions'. There is something more here than a guilty person caught in the act having a fit of conscience. Today Eddie reaches out to others through a ministry to the homeless, a testimony to the power of God to renew the whole person. Anne Sutherland's inspiring biography reminds us all that whatever our situation in life, we have a God who welcomes home the prodigal.
