Behind these Doors: Stories of Strength, Suffering and Survival in Prison Book

'The men I have worked with and the staff I've worked alongside over the last ten years in prison have taught me strength, compassion, courage, and fundamentally, the need to talk, the need to share and the need to tell these stories. These are the stories of lives lived, lost and taken, behind walls so high we can pretend they hide another world entirely. But at what cost? Behind These Doors is a provocative, insightful and illuminating interrogation of what it is to live and to work in the UK's most infamous prisons. The individuals Alex introduces us to are, for the most part, living on the margins of society and the impact of the cycles of violence that so often accompany those lives is clear to see. Alex takes us by the hand, behind the gates and through security into prison cells, to the shared kitchens, the prison library, down the corridors and into the 'seg' (segregation unit); we will meet men who will surprise and shock us in equal measure, as well as prison officers who struggle to contain the challenges the job presents. This is a no holds barred depiction of life in prison and its many devastating and astonishing, and sometimes inspiring, consequences. As a woman in this environment, her perspective feels especially urgent.Read More