Earn...Your...Way...Back...Home

"Brett...you have a long and challenging journey ahead. You can choose to use your years in prison productively and prove worthy of your family's love and support. Or, you can allow this criminal conviction to define the rest of your life and theirs as well. The choice is yours, my friend. You can do this, Brett....EARN...YOUR...WAY...BACK...HOME!!!"

These were the wise words Michael Santos—a man who successfully navigated a 45-year prison sentence—spoke to me before the start of my own prison journey.

Five simple words.

Five words that have become my compass while living behind razor-sharp barbed wire.

EARN...YOUR...WAY...BACK...HOME.

I have repeated those words to myself on some of the darkest days of my life.

When shame told me I was nothing more than the worst decisions I had ever made...

EARN...YOUR...WAY...BACK...HOME.

When I woke up inside a federal prison 2,000 miles away from my wife and four children...

EARN...YOUR...WAY...BACK...HOME.

When the enormity of a 15-year prison sentence felt impossible to comprehend...

EARN...YOUR...WAY...BACK...HOME.

Those words continually remind me that although I cannot rewrite yesterday, I absolutely have a responsibility for what I choose to do TODAY.

And for me, the first step toward EARNING my way back home and becoming the father and husband that Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion deserve begins with something incredibly important:

TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY.

I made poor, high-risk, and extremely irresponsible decisions while serving as a trusted business leader.

I could have done better.

I should have done better.

And I WILL do better in the future.

Because of my shortsighted and cowardly business decisions, people were hurt, money was lost, and careers were damaged. Those consequences are real. I cannot erase them simply because I am remorseful, and I will spend the rest of my life attempting to atone for the harm caused by my choices.

Spending more than 540 days locked behind an electrified fence has reinforced something I already knew but desperately needed to fully accept:

There is no "REDO" button.

I cannot change my past.

I cannot undo the collateral consequences created by poor decision-making.

I cannot give my family back the time we've lost.

I cannot erase the pain experienced by the people affected by my decisions.

HOWEVER...

I can decide what kind of man walks forward from them.

Every single morning I wake up behind this razor-sharp fence, I have another opportunity to make intentional and integrous decisions that sow seeds for a BRIGHT, REDEEMING, AND HOPEFULLY HEALING FUTURE.

Whether I remain incarcerated for days, months, or years, I, Brett Bartlett, am dedicated to living a life rooted in transparency, accountability, service, and personal responsibility.

Not because completing a program somehow erases what I did.

It doesn't.

Not because earning a certificate makes me entitled to come home.

It doesn't.

And certainly not because I believe checking enough boxes somehow makes the consequences disappear.

It doesn't work that way.

I'm doing these things because I made a promise to the five people I love most on this planet that prison would NOT be wasted.

I promised them I would become better.

I promised them I would use this time productively.

And I promised them that every single day I would do everything within my control to...

EARN...MY...WAY...BACK...HOME.

To live that commitment with accountability and transparency inside federal prison, I've made an intentional effort to document and memorialize the choices I'm making to reconcile with society, develop employable skills, fulfill my obligations, strengthen my family relationships, and prepare myself to someday become a productive and welcomed neighbor again.

And that documentation has become especially meaningful as I approach what could be an incredibly important next chapter in my prison journey.

But before I explain what comes next...

I need to speak directly to my family.

Noél, my love...

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time out of your already overwhelming days to help me share and memorialize this prison story.

You are carrying responsibilities I wish I could carry beside you. You're raising our four cherished children, working, navigating life's endless challenges, answering my calls, reading my letters, encouraging me forward, and somehow continuing to remind me that I am more than the worst decisions I've ever made.

I promise you...

your husband is doing everything humanly possible to prove worthy of your unconditional love and support.

Without your consistent cheers forward, I don't know that I ever would have rediscovered my true self.

I'm beyond grateful and honored to be your forever person.

Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion...

Daddy is working SUPER HARD every single day to make you proud.

Thank you for every long-distance laugh.

Every phone call.

Every letter.

Every story.

Every virtual hug and kiss.

Every I love you!

Every time you remind your dad that there is an extraordinary life waiting for him on the other side of this razor-sharp fence.

You are my cherished children, and I absolutely adore each and every one of you.

And I want to make something crystal clear:

I firmly believe Noél and our four children are serving a much harsher prison sentence than I ever will.

I'm the one who made the choices.

Yet they live with consequences they didn't create.

THEY ARE THE REAL HEROES OF THIS STORY.

I draw strength every single day from their contagious courage.

Which brings me to the reason I'm sharing such a detailed account of my prison journey today.

The comprehensive list below is NOT ME BRAGGING OR SHOWING OFF.

Quite the opposite.

To me, this list represents a broken man, husband, and father attempting to transparently follow through on a commitment he made to his family before walking through the doors of federal prison.

This is what EARN...YOUR...WAY...BACK...HOME has looked like for me so far.

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Brett's Productive Prison Journey... So Far

Taking Responsibility Before Prison

• After receiving a criminal indictment and BEFORE my arraignment in federal court, I proactively arranged a meeting with federal prosecutors and FBI agents to communicate that I intended to take responsibility for my decisions.
• I chose NOT to take my case to trial and accepted responsibility for my past choices as a former business owner.
• During approximately 22 months of supervised home release, I maintained a perfect disciplinary record and complied with the requirements established by my probation officer.
• At sentencing, I submitted a personal narrative, release plan, and restitution plan acknowledging the mistakes I made as a business operator and outlining how I intended to use my incarceration productively, including developing career skills that could help me make steady and predictable restitution payments after release.
• I successfully self-surrendered to federal prison in Rochester, Minnesota, to begin serving my sentence.

Education, Employment & Career Development

• I studied for and passed the N.E.E.T.S. examination, allowing me to work as a biomedical repair technician within our compound's federal medical facility.
• I applied for and was accepted into the highly coveted T.A.I.L.S. service dog training program as a volunteer service dog trainer.
• I applied for and was accepted into the animal/dog trainer apprenticeship program.
• I passed multiple dog-training final examinations and completed the required 4,000 practitioner hours to graduate from the apprenticeship program and become a certified animal/dog trainer.
• I have successfully helped train and raise several INCREDIBLE future superhero service dogs—including pups who have taught me more about unconditional love, service, trust, and second chances than I could possibly fit into one letter.
• I wrote two full manuscripts, SPEAK DOG and SHATTER YOUR SHAME, with the hope that my writing can eventually generate income that can contribute toward restitution after my release.
• I have read and studied more than 45 carefully selected books intended to help me become a better father, husband, neighbor, friend, and future professional dog trainer.

Restitution & Financial Responsibility

• I voluntarily enrolled in the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program, allowing me to make restitution payments using wages earned while incarcerated.
• I continue working toward the long-term goal of developing legitimate, sustainable career opportunities that will allow me to make predictable restitution payments after release.

First Step Act Programming & Rehabilitation

• I enrolled in and successfully completed multiple certified First Step Act programs and classes recommended based upon my identified needs.
• Following completion of the recommended programming, prison staff reviewed my central file and determined that I had addressed the identified needs reflected in my record.
• Following consecutive team reviews, staff determined that I had a low risk of recidivism, allowing me to earn First Step Act time credits at the applicable rate toward potential prerelease custody.
• I have remained in good standing for more than 500 days, allowing me to continue earning available First Step Act time credits.

Custody & Institutional Conduct

• After consecutive team reviews, my custody classification score was reduced to 0—the lowest score available on my custody classification scoring sheet.
• I have maintained a PERFECT DISCIPLINARY RECORD throughout my incarceration.
• I have intentionally worked to demonstrate through my daily conduct that increased responsibility and trust will never be something I take for granted.

Family, Community & Personal Growth

• Despite being designated to a federal facility approximately 2,000 miles away from home, I have worked diligently to maintain close and healthy relationships with Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion through daily TRULINCS messages, phone calls, letters, and every other opportunity available to me.
• I have documented my commitment to rehabilitation by writing weekly short-story letters and sending them home to my lovely and AMAZING wife, Noél, who has faithfully shared this journey with all of you.
• I have mentored fellow prisoners who wanted to begin their own productive prison journeys, take responsibility for their futures, and make their families proud.

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And Now... We Need Your Prayers

Everything I've written above brings me to RIGHT NOW.

Soon, a member of my prison team will review my central file as I seek the next incremental step in my custody journey:

Placement at a minimum-security federal prison camp closer to my family in California.

I lack the words to adequately describe what that opportunity would mean to me.

But even more importantly...

what it would mean to THEM.

For more than 540 days, Noél and our four children have loved me from approximately 2,000 miles away.

California is home.

My wife is there.

My children are there.

My family is there.

The possibility of being transferred closer to them isn't simply about exchanging one prison for another.

For our family, proximity matters.

It could mean making visits more realistically accessible.

It could mean my children having greater opportunity to sit across from their father, look me in the eyes, hug me, laugh with me, and continue rebuilding the kind of father-child relationships I am fighting every single day to protect.

It could mean Noél no longer having to contemplate the enormous logistical and financial burden associated with traveling thousands of miles simply to sit beside her husband.

And emotionally...

it would mean being ONE STEP CLOSER TO HOME.

I understand that none of this is owed to me.

I understand that placement decisions belong to the Bureau of Prisons and involve considerations beyond the accomplishments listed in this letter.

But I desperately hope that when prison staff open my central file and examine the choices I've made throughout this journey, they see evidence of a man who has taken this opportunity seriously.

A man who accepted responsibility.

A man who followed the rules.

A man who worked.

A man who completed his programming.

A man who paid toward restitution.

A man who learned a trade.

A man who served.

A man who maintained his relationship with his wife and children.

A man who made mistakes...

but refused to allow those mistakes to become an excuse to stop growing.

So to every person who has prayed for our family, encouraged Noél, written to me, purchased one of our books, loved our children, followed these prison stories, or simply believed that human beings are capable of redemption...

WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS.

Please pray that the staff members reviewing my file see the work I've intentionally put into my rehabilitation.

Please pray for wisdom and favor throughout the review process.

Please pray that if a California camp is the right next step in our family's story, the necessary doors open.

Please pray for Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion as they continue carrying the weight of this journey on the outside.

And please pray that regardless of the outcome...

I remain exactly who I've committed to becoming.

Because my productive prison journey cannot depend upon receiving the answer I want.

If the answer is yes...

I'll keep working.

If the answer is not yet...

I'll keep working.

If another obstacle appears...

I'll keep working.

Because Michael Santos never told me:

"Earn your way back home only if everything goes according to plan."

He simply told me:

EARN...YOUR...WAY...BACK...HOME.

And that's exactly what I intend to do.

One decision.

One program.

One restitution payment.

One dog.

One letter.

One day at a time.

Until eventually...

God willing...

those five words lead me through the front door of my home and into the warm embrace of Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion.

To all my brothers and sisters currently suffocating beneath shame...

please hear me:

YOUR PAST DOES NOT DEFINE YOU.

Your story is not over.

It's actually just getting started.

You may not be able to rewrite yesterday...

BUT...

you absolutely get to decide what you do with today.

And maybe that's where redemption begins.

Love,
Brett  (A federal prisoner who remains dedicated to EARNING his way back home to his beautiful family.)

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