100: Right from Wrong with Jacob Dunne

Unbroken: Healing Through Storytelling

Jacob Dunne is an author and consultant facilitating important conversations around criminal justice, education, and mental health.

He presented “The Punch” series for Radio 4 which won best factual series at the national radio academy awards 2021. Which followed Jacob’s personal experience of Restorative Justice, how it has benefitted other perpetrators and victims of crime, and what the benefits might look like if we were to adopt Restorative approaches more broadly throughout society

He is a former Longford scholar and received a first-class honours in criminology from Nottingham Trent University in 2019

His debut book ‘Right From Wrong” published by Harper North was released on May 12, 2022, which he hopes will shine a light on the reforms and support needed to break an endless cycle of division and hopelessness

I know Jacob from our involvement with The Forgiveness Project and was always so impressed by how he managed to turn his life around, after that fatal night when he threw a single punch which resulted in the death of James Hodgkinson

Some key points from our interview:

· How he believes his inner child is in a state of unbrokenness and innocence

· How he struggled in his teenage years at school and found the experience degrading

· How he was labelled with ADHD, dyslexia and being on the autistic spectrum whilst at school

· How he feels he failed at school and had a negative belief system and eventually stopped going to school

· How he got involved with dealing drugs, being part of a gang and getting involved with fights

· How he was sentenced to prison at aged 19 after throwing an unprovoked single punch, which killed James

· How he met James’s parents, Joan and David, through the Restorative Justice process as it felt he owed it to them to answers their questions

· How their concern about him and his future disarmed him

· How he recognises the importance of self compassion and compassion for others

· How he’s passionate about sharing his story and talking about conflict and restorative justice to show people that anyone can turn things around with the right support
"Unbroken: Healing Through Storytelling" features individuals who have all triumphed after adversity and have not just bounced back in life, but forward and are now making a difference for others.
Hosted by Madeleine Black, the show will share stories of all the amazing people Madeleine has met on her own journey as an author/speaker and these stories will heal, motivate, inspire and bring hope when they share their wisdom and knowledge with her.
She really believes in the power that comes when we share our stories, that in fact we are not story tellers but story healers. Tune in to discover what helped them to stay unbroken and together we will discover that none of us are broken beyond repair.
You can find out more about Madeleine, her story and her memoir, Unbroken, from her website: https://madeleineblack.co.uk/
Watch edited highlights on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MadeleineBlackUnbroken

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