The Innocent Brother & The Devil Within Book

The Innocent Brother

And The Devil Within

The Innocent Brother

And The Devil Within

Some lives are shaped by love. Others are misshaped by silence, pain, and systems that look the other way. ‘The Innocent Brother and the Devil Within’ is a heartfelt and honest memoir that follows the life of Robert Schriber, a boy born into hardship, swallowed by addiction, and ultimately lost to a justice system that never truly delivered justice. Told by his older brother Albert with clarity, sorrow, and resolve, this book is not simply the story of Robert’s downfall. It is a story of survival, trauma, and the quiet damage that begins in childhood and spreads across a lifetime. From the carly days in a struggling Louisiana household to the horrors of abuse under a violent stepfather, Robert’s world was shaped by chaos. When his path turned toward drugs, crime, and prison, there was little left to pull him back. But this is not a story without purpose. Through Robert’s journey from solitary confinement in Angola to a final, tragic end in a Kansas prison cell,

Albert offers something more than a memoir. He provides a mirror of the world’s failures and a voice for those left behind. With sincerity and a refusal to look away, “The Innocent Brother and the Devil Within’ is a heartbreaking reminder that behind every headline is a human life that could have turned out differently.

Choose Your Preference:

Chapters

Chapter 1

Dilton Street: The Innocent Days

It was a quiet, hot summer night—the kind that clings to your skin and makes the air feel heavier than it should. The attic fan hummed steadily in the background, pushing the stale…

Chapter 2

My First Lesson in Responsibility

The day after Christmas, I felt hollow. It was that strange kind of sadness that creeps in after the glitter fades, the wrapping paper is thrown away, and the house is quieter than it should be. I sat cross-legged on the…

Chapter 3

The Cracks Begin to Show

Sometimes, I think I was born knowing how to survive. Not in a dramatic, Hollywood way—no fires or earthquakes or wilderness—but in the quiet, exhausting way of kids who grow up with too much responsibility…

Chapter 4

Into the Mississippi – Our Brush with Death

Johnny was always the serious one. You could count on him to be calm, collected, and weirdly responsible for a teenager. He had that quiet kind of presence, the type that …

Chapter 5

The End of Childhood – Leaving Dilton Street

I stood on the corner of Dilton Street and Salem Avenue, motionless, watching the sun dip behind the Mississippi River levee like it had done a thousand times before. The sky was burning orange, bleeding into a soft purple at the edges...

Chapter 6

Abuse and Troubled Times

I was fortunate enough to escape the chaos brought on by Geiger, unlike my younger brother Robert, who wasn’t as lucky. Ava and I had reached an age where we could recognize…

Chapter 7

Sex, Drugs, and Predators

I loved my mother deeply and wanted more than anything to have a loving, close relationship with her. But she was trapped in a dark, destructive world I could never fully understand...

Chapter 8

Robert the Addict

The decision to use illegal street drugs is never made lightly, but once you’re hooked, it’s not a decision anymore. It’s survival. For Robert, there was no life without drugs...

Chapter 9

Mandeville and Madness

I was packing for a three-week trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for my job. It was one of those typical hot, muggy New Orleans afternoons when the loud ring of the telephone startled me...

Chapter 10

The Road to Angola

When Robert was sober and free from drugs, he exhibited what most people would describe as normal behavior. In fact, during these rare clear periods, he managed to lead a relatively …

Chapter 11

Surviving Angola

I’ve seen a lot in my life. But nothing prepared me for Angola. Every time I visited Robert there, it felt like stepping into the 1800s. Eighteen thousand acres of cultivated fields, worked not by free men but by prisoners in shackles…

Chapter 12

The Magnolia 3 Murders

Robert never gave me all the details. But I heard enough. He got close with another inmate at Angola—a man known for violence and racial hatred. During a riot, they murdered three inmates. No convictions ever came. No one ratted…

Chapter 13

Freedom: The Last Visit

After fifteen years of anguish and pain, and over ten thousand dollars spent supporting Robert’s incarceration at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, he is finally going to be…

Chapter 14

Until I Kill Someone – Kansas

I still remember that visit with Robert in Angola. We sat across from each other in a cold, concrete room. The air smelled faintly of bleach and something older, like metal and regret. The chairs were bolted down, gray, hard…

Chapter 15

The Final Sentence

After it happened, after Robert stabbed Henrietta in the heart with a screwdriver during one of their relentless, brutal fights, he didn’t run. He didn’t hide. He didn’t even try to deny it…

Why Read It?

This book deeply examines personal growth and the struggle for redemption. The letters shared reveal honest reflections that resonate with anyone who’s faced tough choices. It captures that raw moment when someone tries to connect and find meaning in their actions. This read is worthwhile if you appreciate stories of transformation and self-discovery.