Tag: prisonstory

Medical · Non-Fiction · Prison story

Stitched Up: Stories of Life & Death From A Prison Doctor – Dr Shahed Yousaf ★★★★

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Blurb: ‘Stories that will curl your toes, make you laugh out loud and break your heart all at the same time.’
PROFESSOR DAME SUE BLACK, author of All That Remains

Why would anyone want to work with thieves, murderers and rapists?

Told from the inside out, this is a harrowing, humorous and hard-hitting tale of life behind bars by a prison doctor who has seen it all. Literally.

Dr Shahed Yousaf spends his time running between emergencies – from overdoses to assaults, from cell fires to suicides – with one hand perpetually hovering over the panic button. Being a prison doctor is not for the faint-hearted.

An outsider on the inside, in Stitched Up he introduces us to a cast of unforgettable characters, including killers, con men and auto-cannibals. To Dr Yousaf, they are patients first and prisoners second – because any one of us could end up on the wrong side of the law.

Dedicated to caring for people on the margins of society, he tells us honestly and compassionately what it’s like to be their doctor in a system that’s chronically overcrowded, drastically under-resourced and all too easy to ignore. But while the system is failing, he and his colleagues are doing their very best to prop it up. In stories that are frequently harrowing, sometimes humorous and always hard-hitting, we discover how difficult it is to be locked up – but that there is still hope for all those who dare to care.

My Review: I picked this up from the library one off my wishlist and I am so glad I read it. Devoured this over two days. I have always been fascinated with prisons and prison life so this gave me a brilliant inside look to being a Dr within a prison and all that he has seen and dealt with and it isn’t an easy job. One I couldn’t do. One that can change your whole life. But a job that can also save and change lives of the prisoners he deals with. I absolutely loved his story. Highly recommend. I applaud you sir. Thank you for your service. A well deserved four stars.

Amazon Link UK

Couldn’t find it on Amazon US site. Apologies.

crime · Killers · Prison story · suspense

How To Kill Your Family – Bella Mackie ★★★★

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Blurb; I have killed several people (some brutally, others calmly) and yet I currently languish in jail for a murder I did not commit.

When I think about what I actually did, I feel somewhat sad that nobody will ever know about the complex operation that I undertook. Getting away with it is highly preferable, of course, but perhaps when I’m long gone, someone will open an old safe and find this confession. The public would reel. After all, almost nobody else in the world can possibly understand how someone, by the tender age of 28, can have calmly killed six members of her family. And then happily got on with the rest of her life, never to regret a thing.

When Grace Bernard discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she vows revenge, and sets about to kill every member of his family. Readers have a front row seat as Grace picks off the family one by one – and the result is as and gruesome as it is entertaining in this wickedly dark romp about class, family, love… and murder.

But then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit.

My Review; This was mine and Mel’s last buddy read of 2021. Now don’t get me wrong I loved the whole story and the plot especially the ending which made the whole book for us both. Totally unexpected. But this book has really really LONG chapters. We are talking huge chapters here. Which many readers including myself do not like. Which made reading it drag for us both even if we split it into three or four chapters a day.

The story is told from inside her cell and splits chapters to each of her kills with also a look inside her prison life. Each kill is different. Each clever. Each very well planned out. Can’t fault that. Just the long chapters is the downfall here. Which is why I awarded four stars instead of five.

Amazon Link US

Amazon Link UK

crime · Prison story

*BLOG TOUR* Diary Of A Prison Officer – Josie Channer ★★★★

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Blurb; It’s 2003, Tony Blair is still Prime Minister and a shy loner from east London, Amber Campbell, joins the prison service searching for purpose.

Behind the walls of the women’s prison Amber is determined to prove that she has what it takes to become a tornado officer. She makes a pact with two close friends to support each other no matter what. However, the three Black women struggle when they experience discrimination and disappointment at every turn.

There is rising racial tension in her home town when far right local councillors are elected. Amber reflects on the prison system in her blog and takes an emotional journey off the beaten track through Africa to find love.

My Review; WOW. If you’ve been following me for a while you will know that true crime and anything about prisons I LOVE. It’s just really interesting to me so I knew this was right up my street.

I loved the lay out of the whole story. It is written in diary entries from the past of her time working in a prison to the present where she is touring Africa. It does feature a lot of race issues and some political situations too. It’s honest. Part’s are brutal. It gives you a really good view into life working in an all womans prison. The ending was huge and had me holding my breathe to see the outcome. It also highlights how important friendships are.

An easy read, page turner. Very interesting and I look up to this woman although the book is fiction it is based off the authors life experiences so to me makes it more real! Amazing for everything she went through and stood up for. Highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me.

Amazon Link UK

Amazon Link US