Life doesn’t always give you a second chance, but Joseph’s Redemption by Richard Malmed is about what happens when you fight like hell to earn one. It’s sharp, darkly funny, and brutally honest—just the kind of legal drama you didn’t know you needed. If you’ve ever been knocked down by life (or the system), this story will hit home in a big way.
Malmed gives us Joseph Jacobson, a young lawyer whose life spirals from promising to prison in the blink of an eye. Accused of embezzling $3 million, he’s tossed into a system that cares more about appearances than truth. You feel every second of his frustration, humiliation, and quiet resilience as he tries to clear his name while navigating the dehumanizing layers of prison life and corrupt legal power plays. The book’s breaking point?
I had opened my big mouth, saved everyone’s ass and was still a pariah.
— Joseph’s Redemption, Chatsworth Arrest, p. 14
Twists, Trials, and Turning Points
At its core, Joseph’s Redemption is a deep dive into how easy it is to lose everything—and how painfully hard it is to get even a sliver of it back. Joseph isn’t a hero in shining armor. He’s smart, yes, but also painfully human. He makes one mistake—trusting the wrong people—and suddenly he’s in a cell, surrounded by strangers, and treated like scum by the very system he once worked for.
Malmed takes his time peeling back the layers. The book bounces between Joseph’s memories of privilege and Ivy League pressure, and the cold reality of cell blocks, sham hearings, and the inner politics of a broken justice machine. And yet, there’s something uplifting about it. Joseph doesn’t go full bitter. He observes. He reflects. He fights. And sometimes, he even laughs at the absurdity of it all.
You’ll walk through high-stakes law firm boardrooms, see the greasy gears of municipal corruption, then get thrown into Graterford State Correctional Institution right alongside Joseph. The writing’s vivid, the dialogue snaps, and the moral questions it raises about guilt, innocence, and the price of speaking out stick with you long after the final page.
Writer Behind the Story
Robert L. Goodrich has lived a life in and around the wilderness, and this book is the proof. A lifelong Richard Malmed isn’t guessing when it comes to the legal world—he’s lived it. A graduate of Yale and Villanova Law, Malmed has worked in some of the very environments he critiques in Joseph’s Redemption. He’s practiced law, faced down bureaucracy, and clearly knows how those big-money deals are made… and broken.
His insight doesn’t just give the novel depth—it gives it teeth. Malmed writes with a wit and confidence that makes even complex legal maneuvering easy to follow. And what really sets him apart? He cares. You can tell he’s not just telling Joseph’s story—he’s pushing back at a world that too often swallows people whole for speaking the truth.
So if you’re into courtroom dramas with real grit, layered characters, and writing that cuts through the noise, Joseph’s Redemption is a must-read. The book invites you into a world where justice isn’t guaranteed—but redemption might still be on the table.
Joseph’s Redemption
Grab your copy and follow Joseph’s fight to reclaim what was stolen.