On October 28, 2026 the Harmony Project welcomed Ann Fisher to Madison Correctional Institution (MaCI) to interview Harmony choir participants about the songs they were learning. I was one of the interviewees.

Ms. Fisher led a distinguished journalism career and is most known for her NPR talk show All Sides With Ann Fisher. She covered politics at the Ohio State House toward the end of her career, retiring a few years ago.

On this day we rehearsed three songs by the artist Moby: Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?; This Wild Darkness, and We’re All Made of Stars. We then recorded for a Harmony Project music video, which Harmony will air at one of their public Columbus, Ohio concerts. The concerts draw thousands of people.

Through their prison arts program, Harmony seeks to break stereotypes about incarcerated people by showing the public that we are people like anyone else. I have been a harmony participant for three years and it has been an amazing experience.

In the song, This Wild Darkness, we are presented with the struggles of life. The central theme is from darkness to light. In my interview with Ann Fisher, she asked a question based on the theme of the song than encompassed this: Whose way might I be lighting without even knowing it?

My answer came easy because it is firsthand to me. On stage every year since 2023, I’ve presented a spoken word to a crowd of thousands of incarcerated people at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. My stories are personal and about my struggles over 31 years of incarceration. I believe in my heart — by my example, and testimony — I help others who are struggling to cope. It only takes one person willing to bare themselves to others for us to remember that we’re all in this life together.

Meeting and getting to now Ann Fisher was fun. She is humorous, down to earth, and welcomed all of us unconditionally. She offered me great advice on seeking a future in journalism. The one piece that stuck with me the most was her telling me that, no matter what, pursue your passion. Everything else will fall in place.


*Christopher Monihan is an author, journalist, and Stillwater Award recipient. He is incarcerated in Ohio.

Your comments are always welcomed, and if you haven’t already please subscribe — thank you for following!