Worth It!

Joey Lucero wrote his autobiographical set of stories in Worth It! while incarcerated. The book is a wild ride through his unbelievable life experiences with family, friends, criminal associates, and a variety of celebrities, who make cameo appearances. Though the subject matter is often disturbing and sometimes sad, Lucero manages to find bizarre humor and even hope all along the way. Lucero has spent the majority of his adult life in custody (for everything from drug manufacturing and sales to driving without a license) but also plays music in a variety of bands, has been in long term romantic relationships, had long lasting friendships, and maintains an unbreakable commitment to his family, especially his mother, who sometimes joins him in his various exploits. Readers learn, through Lucero's revealing, often hilarious, first-person writing, about an alternate reality that exist all around us. Worth It! is destined to become a classic of prison writing. It is the third book in the Same Time series and features a foreword by Zoe Dubno and cover artwork by Lauren dela Roche.

Some People Press publishes autobiographical books by formerly incarcerated writers, as well as books on art and other subjects. Some People Press challenges the idea that only certain people-with the right educations, experiences, and connections-can be published authors. The project does not require that participants have experience writing. Instead, the process we use works with existing skills and knowledge by asking people to "write what you know." Incarcerated participants develop writing skills at their own pace with the support and feedback of their peers and weekly meetings with project leaders and visitors.

Many of the writers whose work are included in the Same Time series have taken part in the autobiographical writing and publishing project at Columbia River Correctional Institution, a minimum-security prison in Northeast Portland, Oregon. During weekly classes they workshopped their writing with fellow participants and various visiting writers, publishers, and artists including Miranda July, Chris Johanson, Jim Drain, and Laura Moulton.