When Ed recalls the moment he finally heard the words “parole granted,” his voice breaks. It was 3 a.m. when he walked to the kiosk, saw those words appear, and collapsed to his knees in tears. After decades of denials, crushing setbacks, and nights wondering if freedom would ever come, he was finally going home.

But getting there was anything but simple.

Ed grew up with two strong parents. His father, a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, and his mother, an aerospace engineer. Baseball was his passion, and scholarships were within reach. Then trouble pulled him off that path, and his life spiraled into 43 years in and out of prisons across multiple states. He endured long stretches in maximum security, parole hearings that tore him apart, and the kind of waiting that wears on the soul.

Through it all, he clung to one thought.

“I wasn’t institutionalized. I wanted to go home.”

That desire kept him alive in a place that tried to strip him of hope.

When release finally came, it was overwhelming. He walked out with only jeans, a T-shirt, and a bus ticket. No safety net, no map for the future. Two and a half days later, Ed saw his daughter again and met his grandchildren for the first time soon after.

“I used to help my granddaughter with homework over the phone. But meeting her in person….that was terrifying and beautiful.”

Those first moments of freedom were a mix of joy and fear. Could he fit into a world that had moved on without him? Could he be the man he wanted to be and that his family needed?

Fourteen months later, Ed has built a life that seemed out of reach. He has steady work at Awake, savings in the bank, a truck of his own, and, as he proudly shares, a credit score climbing above 700. He speaks with his family daily, but it’s his grandchildren who ground him most.

“Every time I’m with them, it’s a blessing.”

Still, he doesn’t hide the struggle. Freedom comes with pressure, temptation, and memories that haunt him.

“I’ve done things I’m not proud of. But I’m tired of that lifestyle. I don’t want that anymore.”

For Ed, transformation isn’t about erasing the past. It’s about waking up each day and choosing differently. Choosing to work, to love, to stay free, and to hold close the family that never gave up on him.

“His story is a reminder that it’s never too late and that second chances don’t come easy, but they carry the power to change everything.”