Nonfiction

Willow in a Storm

By James Peter Taylor and Kathleen Murphy-Taylor

“I was stunned by Willow in a Storm. It is the story of one man’s long life, and his truly spiritual journey into the abyss of our country’s penal system, and miraculously, almost mythically, his survival and return to society. With the assistance of his wife, James Peter Taylor, now approaching his eightieth year, tells this harrowing and inspiring story with class, directness, and honesty.”
—Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and anti-death penalty activist

In this raw, unflinching memoir, James Peter Taylor, with the help of his wife Kathleen Murphy-Taylor, recounts the events of his unusual life, over forty years of which were spent incarcerated. Mentally and sexually abused by his adoptive father, Jim Taylor receives a life sentence at age 30 when he accidentally kills Kenneth Lindberg, a Minnesota banker and married father of four, during a robbery.

Taylor manages to survive in prison, despite the rampant violence, in part by playing a woman’s role, a gender switch that becomes second nature to him. After decades behind bars, a wiser and more spiritual Taylor is released in the 1990s back to civilian life, bolstered by his marriage to the book’s coauthor and former social worker, Kathy Murphy.

Willow in a Storm demonstrates hope even in the most dismal of circumstances.

“Prison stories always take me to the edge of my own soul and push me up against my own limitations as I try to imagine how I would respond to the brutishness of penal confinement. James Peter Taylor’s Willow in a Storm is such a story, but it goes deeper than I expected; even after all the horrific experience I’ve gained on death row and at executions.”
—Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

“The first-person account of sexual abuse behind bars in Willow in a Storm is revealing and powerful. Kathleen Murphy-Taylor and Jim Taylor deal with this difficult subject in a way that is frank, unsentimental and honest. The story at the heart of Willow in a Storm is compelling—a window onto a world that many people have never considered.”
—Laura Stemple, former Executive Director, Stop Prison Rape

“In this fascinating book we read of a gifted person who tragically took a wrong path. We witness prison brutality and the painful fear, anger and alienation of prisoners, which usually hardens rather than reforms. Then we read of the transformation that can come about, even in dire circumstances, when we put our trust in God and the hope of reconciliation with a community. I was amazed to read about the people who helped Jim Taylor find his way back to that good-hearted, gifted person he began as. It inspires the reader to be shown what the unconditional love of another person can do.”
—Al Quie, former Governor of Minnesota

James Peter Taylor and Kathleen Murphy-Taylor have been married for 11 years. Jim managed to survive over 40 years in prison and was released at age 70, partially blind. Today, over a decade later, he faces further health battles, including dementia. Kathy received her MSW from the University of Michigan. She practiced social work for 32 years for private and public agencies. In her retirement, she devotes herself to caring for Jim. They live in Minneapolis. kcmurphytaylor@aol.com.

Now blogging at willowinastorm.blogspot.com.