Joe Loya’s life trajectory of rising up and moving forward took a radically different turn after losing his mother at an an early age, and stabbing his father in the neck at the age of 16. This was beginning of of a life of crime, and 14 month bank robbing spree in which he robbed 30 banks. In this amazing chat about his life, we discuss the amazing power of innovating with your story.

The loss of a parent at a very young age
Growing up with an abusive father
How stabbing his father unleashed Joe’s anger
The power of a story that continually changed
How being robbed caused Joe to ratchet up his game
The murder of an ex cellmate that changed Joe’s life
Achieving balance without acting against your consciousness
How writing starts to reveal the patterns of our lives
Why you must start to own your story
How Joe became a talking head for crime
The pain of victims that led Joe to working with female writers
Why your story is a fluid thing that you can own
How we deal with grief and why it’s a part of life
Why holding onto grief can be insidious
How being trained to look for meaning helped Joe transform
A look at what happens in the mind when you rob a bank
Why your story is a fluid thing that can change
Learning to laugh at the things you take seriously
Our cultural misperceptions of the people who are prison

Joe Loya is an essayist and playwright, as well as a contributing editor with the Pacific News Service. His essays have appeared in several national newspapers and magazines, including the San Francisco Examiner, the Los Angeles Times, and El Andar magazine.

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Confessions of a Bank Robber with Joe Loya