Sometimes recognition means more because of what is being recognized.
On September 22, It Just Works authors Brandon D. Cox and Jermaine F. Ferguson will have the opportunity to sit down with KARE 11 to discuss their book, the Earned Living Unit (ELU) at MCF-Stillwater, and a project built around rehabilitation, accountability, leadership, behavioral science, community, and the belief that people are capable of meaningful change.
For Brandon and Jermaine, being recognized for work they have committed themselves to while incarcerated is incredibly gratifying. But this interview isn't simply about two authors receiving attention.
It's an opportunity for voices from inside the ELU to travel beyond the prison walls.
More Than Two Names on a Cover
It Just Works: Real Stories & Behavioral Science From the Earned Living Unit was never intended to tell the story of the ELU through Brandon and Jermaine alone.
Men living within the community trusted them with deeply personal stories about their lives, mistakes, struggles, growth, accountability, and transformation. Those experiences became an essential part of the book.
Being entrusted with those stories comes with responsibility.
Serving as a vessel for these men to share experiences that might otherwise never leave the prison is both an honor and a privilege.
Our names may be on the cover, but our voices are not the only ones that made this book possible.
And as It Just Works begins reaching readers, community leaders, corrections professionals, legislators, policymakers, and other decision-makers, those voices are entering rooms that many of the men themselves cannot physically enter.
That matters.
What If We Paid Attention to What's Working?
It Just Works doesn't argue that the Earned Living Unit is perfect.
It asks people to pay attention.
What happens when incarcerated men are expected not simply to avoid trouble, but to practice leadership, accountability, responsibility, communication, service, self-regulation, and community?
What happens when the environment changes?
What happens when men begin holding themselves—and one another—to a different standard?
These are questions worth exploring not only for corrections, but for rehabilitation, reentry, public safety, violence prevention, and stronger communities.
We aren't asking people to simply take our word for it.
Look at what's happening. Listen to the men living it. Examine the results. Then ask why.
Turning Transformation Into Contribution
One of the most meaningful parts of It Just Works is what the project can do beyond telling these stories.
Fifty percent of the book's net proceeds support the Boys & Girls Club, while the other 50% support positive initiatives within the Earned Living Unit.
There is something powerful about men living behind prison walls creating something capable of reaching far beyond them—and using that work to invest in young people we hope never have to experience these walls themselves.
That connection between rehabilitation and prevention is intentional.
Second chances matter.
So does helping young people build lives where they may never need one.
The Mission of Crookd Crown Publishing
This project also represents the larger purpose behind Crookd Crown Publishing.
We believe books can do more than generate sales.
They can educate. They can challenge assumptions. They can create conversations. They can preserve voices that might otherwise go unheard. And they can turn lived experience—including failure, adversity, incarceration, growth, and redemption—into something capable of helping another person.
That is the kind of publishing company we are building.
The commitment extends beyond It Just Works. Net proceeds from Brandon's other works are also being used to support youth through the Boys & Girls Club.
Success means more when someone else gets to benefit from it.
Gratitude for Those Who Believe in the Work
None of this happens alone.
We want to extend a special thank-you to David Boehnke of IWOC for his continued support, encouragement, and willingness to believe in Brandon, Jermaine, and the work taking place within the ELU.
Sometimes changing the reach of an idea simply requires someone on the other side of the wall willing to open another door.
We are grateful for everyone who has done that.
The Story Is Traveling
The upcoming KARE 11 interview is exciting.
But what makes us proud isn't simply that cameras are coming.
It's what those cameras are coming to talk about.
They're coming to hear about a book created inside a Minnesota prison.
They're coming to hear about incarcerated men sharing their stories.
They're coming to discuss rehabilitation, accountability, behavioral science, community, and transformation.
And they're helping carry a conversation that began inside the Earned Living Unit to people far beyond it.
When the KARE 11 story becomes available, we'll share the interview here so our readers, supporters, families, community partners, and everyone following this journey can watch.
Until then, we remain grateful—for the recognition, for everyone who trusted us with their stories, and for every person who continues to believe that meaningful change deserves to be seen.
The book may have been written behind the walls.
The purpose was always bigger than them.
It Just Works: Real Stories & Behavioral Science From the Earned Living Unit
Brandon D. Cox & Jermaine F. Ferguson
Crookd Crown Publishing — turning lived experience into purpose, impact, and opportunity.