I found this book to be absolutely brilliant! I would have never thought that I’d pick up a story written by someone who has spent time in jail but I would have expected even less that I would highly enjoy it. It was informative, shocking, touching, emotional, funny, entertaining and simply really well written. If you’re looking for a bit of unusual non-fiction, this might just be the right read for you. I wasn’t aware of who Chris Atkins was before reading the book – he’s a documentary film maker – but this wasn’t a problem in the slightest. It’s rather now that I’m curious to watch the movies he has made, am already listening to his podcast and am looking forward to the release of his second book, “Time After Time“, which is due to come out in September 2023. Here’s why the book could be interesting to you, even if you haven’t thought of reading one on the topic before:

Why on earth should law-abiding citizens concern themselves with what happens to a bunch of criminals? […] Prisons are supposed to rehabilitate inmates so they don’t inflict further harm on society. On that basis, your hard-earned taxes are being flushed down the drain, as Britain has the worst reoffending rate in Europe, with 48% of ex-prisoners being reconvicted within one year of release.

p. 6-7

One of the most remarkable parts of the book (besides the shocking state the prison was in that the author described), was how the author managed to stick to his sense of humour. Or at least how he managed to integrate it when writing the book after getting out of prison. The passages below are a couple of examples of that:

‘You seen this prisoner? He’s gone AWOL.’

The screw stomps back out, and the lockdown continues all day. Days later, I ask Officer O’Reilly where they found the missing prisoner. He checks that he won’t be overheard, and whispers, ‘In his own fucking cell.’

p. 235

Another prisoner employment scheme was Cells Pitch, which promised to ‘bridge the gap between prisoners and entrepreneurship’. […] The winner was given £250 on release, to turn their inspiration into reality. […] Most offenders leaving the prison didn’t have anywhere to live, either, so whoever won this award would probably have to launch their business empire from a park bench.

p. 268

The book really helped you understand why things are currently not working due to the way prisons are set up nowadays. How smuggled goods come in through corrupt officers because they’re underpaid, why offered educational programmes are not effective and only motivate prisoners to reoffend again, how serious offenders are being wrongly released due to an archaic bureaucratic management program of records and how ridiculously strict rules actually motivate more drug use within the prisons. I found it to be extremely eye-opening how the author had better suggestions on the prison reform after spending 9 months locked up, knowing exactly what would be needed to change things, rather than all the rest of the efforts that have been put in place so far by people who had no idea what they were talking about.

I sometimes think that everyone should spend a little bit of time in prison, though it’s probably best done before having children. I try and think of those incredible nine months in Wandsworth as a unique social experiment. It’s comforting to know that there’s humour, hope and kindness in even the darkest corners of the world. I learnt a lot about human nature, but probably even more about myself.

p. 304

I would highly suggest you this book and it’s confidently moving onto the shelf of my all-time favourite reads. The author also put together an amazing podcast, “A Bit of a Stretch – The Podcast“, I listened to it on Spotify, it’s also available on Apple Podcasts and many other platforms. Within it, he went beyond the topics he spoke about in the book. Interviewing other ex-prisoners, current prisoners, their family members, sharing details on how badly the lockdown impacted prisons, how his mother in law’s mother has been in prison too or how his time locked up had an influence on his son. It had so much added benefit in addition to the book by telling about a variety of experiences besides the author’s own one. Even though I simply can’t stand podcasts, this one was a huge exception and I highly enjoyed listening to it!

★★★★★ (5/5)

_{Edition: ISBN 978-1-838-95015-6
Atlantic Books, 2020}