Freedom Run

Paul Hartman is a former high school business teacher convicted of embezzling from his school district. Having finished a five-year prison sentence, he is now serving his remaining months in a Des Moines, Iowa, halfway house with three other prisoners: Mary Swartz, Rod Dodge, and Bob Johnson.

They do their best to ride out their last days, but when a new guard nicknamed The Ranger attempts to rape Mary, the men have no choice but to intervene. A fight erupts and, tragically, The Ranger receives a blow that leaves him dead in a pool of blood. Out of options, the four prisoners agree they must escape to avoid life sentences in an Iowa prison.

Paul and Mary head south to Texas together while Rod and Bob are convinced St. Louis is the best place for them. They all hope to move beyond their past mistakes, but not everything goes according to plan. As they each struggle to find new identities and become productive members of society, the law, and their sordid histories, are always close behind them.

Freedom Run is an adventurous tale about second chances.

Jim Riggs received a BA from the University of Northern Iowa and a master of teaching degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He was a high school math teacher and tennis coach in Iowa for thirty-five years and strived to recognize goodness and strength in each individual.

An avid outdoorsman, he discovered a new passion as he began writing his memoirs, family history, poetry, and fiction.

Jim and his wife recently moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where they live on a salt marsh overlooking Broad Creek. They enjoy watching the tides transform the area from a grassy mud flat into a reed-filled lake, observing the assortment of long-legged wading birds, and taking morning walks on the island's beaches.