Emmett Tatter – COUNT TIME prison memoir author & advocate

Emmett Tatter is an author, advocate, and certified yoga instructor whose work bridges the gap between lived experience and criminal justice reform. His debut memoir, COUNT TIME, offers an unflinching look inside the Florida Department of Corrections, drawing from ten years in multiple maximum-security facilities including Lake Butler RMC, Suwannee CI, Taylor CI, and Baker CI.

During his incarceration, Emmett taught himself yoga in conditions designed to crush hope, strip away dignity, and erase identity. He practiced handstands in mop closets while dormitories reached blistering temperatures, eventually battling prison administration for the right to establish restoration-focused yoga classes. He never gave up, eventually teaching hundreds of incarcerated individuals restorative practices in an environment designed for punishment rather than healing.

Since then, Emmett has become a sought-after speaker. He has lectured at Flagler College’s criminology department, presented at the Killer Nashville conference, and spoken at PechaKucha St. Augustine. COUNT TIME has earned endorsements from New York  Times bestseller, judges and professors, and remains a pillar of his mission to change the conversation around rehabilitation and second chances. Emmett’s book COUNT TIME is being adopted by Professor Kelly Vannan at Flagler College’s criminology department as part of the course curriculum.