The author (I’ll call her Sophie, though the Author’s Note seems to make it clear that this is a pseudonym used to protect her identity) is a young black woman who, after an incident she doesn’t describe, finds herself remanded in custody in Britain’s largest female prison. In fact, in total her stay in prison was to last some two years, divided between two separate facilities, and her account of that time is presented in this book. Her experiences are comprehensively and, I believe, very honestly documented and along side this she provides her own analysis of the shortfalls evident in our current prison system, supported by data obtained from a variety of sources.

Sophie grew up in the north of England. She makes it very clear that her father was a violent criminal and both he and her mother practiced substance abuse. In fact from the age of thirteen she’d taken it into her own hands to organise her schooling and subsequently became estranged from pretty much all of her family. She completed a good education (including time at a fee paying school, thanks to a scholarship award) and spent time in a decent if low paying job. And though she doesn’t provide details of the offence that led to her eventual jail sentence she does disclose that it involved a charge of Grievous Bodily Harm (a term used in English law to describe the severest form of assault) and also that of assaulting a police officer.

The broader descriptions of prison life didn’t throw up too many major surprises: it’s predictably grim, with poor food and constant bubbling tensions between inmates and with prison staff. Sophie openly discloses how she used tantrums and physical violence to achieve small wins with prison officers and settle grievances with fellow inmates. She was no saint, and she’s honest enough to admit that. Some elements that were rather more unexpected include the limited opportunities given to inmates to allow or encourage personal development and the almost negligible support provided to prisoners as they prepared for release and afterwards, when they found themselves once more back in the big wide world. Many, it seems, are sent on their way with little help, virtually no money and nowhere to live.

This is a gritty, no holds barred account and once I’d settled into it I found it compelling reading. If I were to offer a small criticism it would be that the desire to provide insight into the deficiencies of the system (and indeed recommendations for its improvement) rather got in the way of what could otherwise have been a flowing and cohesive narrative. But that’s a minor quibble and I quite understand her motivation for including this element. And though I find it hard to accept that Sophie’s behaviour whilst in prison was in any way tolerable I do very much admire her honesty, her tenacity and her drive. Through her own self motivation she’s managed to complete an education, survive a family group that would have sunk most people and despite a few false steps along the way put herself in a position to complete a university degree (she’s close to that stage as the book is published) and hopefully lead a rewarding and fruitful life. No small achievement!

Sophie's memoir is a comprehensive account of her time in prison and provides an insider's point of view of the vast improvements needed to reform a clearly tired system which are backed up by facts and statistics

It's hard not to commend her achievements and admire her tenacity and strength which we could all learn from.

Even though I found the narrative hard to follow at times, I do think it is an important book that needs to be read by all who would like to gain an understanding of a marginalised, often overlooked part of society.