'You Can Bounce Back'

By Tricia Scruggs

Published: Monday, October 5, 2009 1:26 PM CDT

How does an award-winning track coach go from the school yard to the prison yard? It can happen and Douglas McDuffie has been there, done that.

Now, in his book, “You Can Bounce Back: The Psychology of a Preacher in Prison,” he shares how he straightened his path and made his way back to the classroom.

“I’m very open-minded and frank,” McDuffie said of his story. “That’s the only way you can reach the soul of a person. Hopefully it’ll be therapeutic for people.”

Sprinkled with Bible references, the 220-plus page read opens in 1998 when McDuffie was known around town as a preacher, winning coach and youth role model. Yet, the Ohio native found himself surrounded one October day by federal and local law enforcement officers — guns drawn — at a gas station where he had stopped to fill up.

“When the fall came, it hurt,” he wrote.

McDuffie had moved to Texas to teach and study at Southwestern Christian College and was credited with assembling a team of track and field athletes who were some of the best in the country.

“We had an excellent program,” he said.

Yet, at what should have been his professional peak, McDuffie admittedly had been selling drugs. He was charged, convicted and sentenced, spending more than six years in federal prison. He soon realized the shock and devastation his actions had caused his family and the community that supported him.  

McDuffie said he wrote the book for two reasons, to free himself and to give others hope. Written in a real, first person style, he said “You Can Bounce Back” “is not designed just to talk about my experience in prison.”

Still, his story is one of inspiration, detailing how he worked hard, pursued more education, earning two masters degrees, and now teaches psychology at SwCC.

“My goal was to get back into the classroom,” McDuffie said, explaining he also works as a dorm director, helping young men stay out of trouble. “It’s been good to bring my experience to the table. I could see where some of these kids were headed.”

He said the book offers hope for people even if they have found themselves in trouble. McDuffie now travels, speaking to churches and groups about how to equip themselves when facing the loss of a loved one to the prison system.

“It can be frightening,” McDuffie said.

One chapter, titled “How I Survived Prison Life” gives six basic rules to live by and supports them with Scripture. McDuffie offers insight for those who are in transition either in or out of a correctional environment, listing tips like not discussing your criminal case with anyone to surrounding yourself with the right people who can support and hold you accountable after release.

“No matter what you go through there’s hope,” McDuffie said. “That hope is in God. You can’t do it on your own.”