Book picks similar to
Behind Prison Walls: The Real World of Working in Today's Prisons by Tom Martin
prison
biography
librarianship
memoir
In the Red: The Diary of a Recovering Shopaholic
Alexis Hall - 2008
'In the Red' is Alexis Hall's diary - full of fashion and frustration - as she battles to transform herself from a spending junkie to a scrupulous saver.
Sins of Fathers: A Spectacular Break from a Dark Criminal Past
Michael Emmett - 2021
Growing up, he knew he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps and join the family business. At just 16 years old, Michael did just that – and entered the glamourous, dangerous world of organised crime.Under the tutelage of his career criminal father – a contemporary of the infamous Kray twins – Michael’s criminal activities funded a reckless lifestyle marked by drugs, sex and violence. But the high couldn’t last forever. In 1993, Michael and his father were arrested in a dramatic confrontation with the police during a £13 million smuggling operation. Michael was sentenced to twelve years behind bars and would serve his time in the same prison as his father.But behind the walls of HMP Exeter, Michael found something he never expected – answers. After joining an Alpha prayer group in prison, he had an experience that would shake the very foundations of his life.Sins of Fathers is the story of Michael’s journey through chaos and trauma to the transformation he experienced in prison. It asks what it takes for a broken man to find redemption, and how he can learn to be the father he never had.
Hack in a Flak Jacket
Peter Stefanovic - 2016
Sure, they have a purpose, and if one ever stopped a bullet or piece of shrapnel from spearing into my vital organs, I would kiss it, hang it up, and frame it. But that hasn't happened, yet.'For almost ten years Peter Stefanovic was Channel Nine's foreign correspondent in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. During that time he witnessed more than his fair share of death and destruction, and carried the burden of those images - all while putting his own personal safety very much in the firing line.From flak jackets to tuxedos. From celebrity funerals, to war zones and natural disasters. This is a thrilling account of a life lived on camera, delivering the news wherever it happens, whatever the risk.
My Bonnie: How Dementia Stole the Love of My Life
John Suchet - 2010
During the past three years he has gone from lover to carer, and he has found his new job exceptionally tough. In this moving and bitterly honest account, the newsreader reveals his loneliness and his despair. For John, it was love at first sight. For many years he had admired Bonnie from afar, hoping and dreaming one day she would feel the same way. Nearly a decade after they first met, their passionate and romantic love affair began. They married in 1985—head over heels in love—and have enjoyed more than 20 years of love and laughter. Both had been married before (she had two children and he had three) but both felt, the day they married, they finally joined their other half. In March 2004, John began to notice strange quirks in Bonnie's behavior. She underwent her first set of neurological tests in March 2005, which brought back no definite results. Then, in February 2006, following a second set of tests, she was diagnosed with Dementia. For three years John personally cared for his beloved wife, keeping her condition secret from all but family and close friends. But in the middle of September this year, more than 26 years after his life with Bonnie began, John made the agonizing decision to move his wife to a full-time care home. Written in passionate and vivid prose that captures both the warmth of the good times and the utter despair of the bad times, John weaves together a series of moving and heartfelt stories. In this combination of present day descriptions of life with Bonnie as her carer and memories of the romantic years they shared together, John gives a unique—and at times stark—insight into the pain of witnessing a loved one lose their memory. This is a story of pain and despair, of anger and guilt. But above all, it is a story of love; a story of devotion, dedication, and the pleasure that those little moments of recognition, those glimmers of joy, can give—even in the hardest times.
A Conspiracy of Crowns: The True Story of the Duke of Windsor and the Murder of Sir Harry Oakes
Alfred de Marigny - 1990
Its portrayal of the Duke of Windsor as a Nazi sympathizer--who would stop at nothing to hide it--is sure to make headlines. Black-and-white photographs.
Wrestling Observer's Tributes: Remembering Some of the World's Greatest Wrestlers
Dave Meltzer - 2001
Book by Meltzer, Dave
A Walk In His Shoes: One family's struggle. A son's battle with addiction.
Dustin John - 2015
With a lucrative job, a wife, and a home of his own, he was destined for a life of fortune, prosperity and comfort. That was before heroin. This unique and gripping tale is the first of its kind to tell the story of addiction through the eyes of both father and son. Together, Dustin and Dallas shine a blinding light on the dark life of a junky. As Dustin decides to travel across the western states in search of a safe haven, Dustin wanders within a few footsteps of his own demise. Instead of finding freedom, however, his addiction cascades into corruption, deceit, and evil. As alcohol and drug abuse continues to ravage every community in America, this groundbreaking memoir offers important insight into the inner workings of an active user, as well as the pain of those loved ones who must helplessly stand by as the family structure disintegrates from addiction.
Freedom Found: My Life Story
Warren Miller - 2016
Now, here at last, is the rest of his extraordinary life story--and what happened behind the camera is even more remarkable than what you saw on the big screen. In this soul-searching autobiography, Warren revealed the secrets of his past and the peaks and valleys he navigated in bringing the sport he loves to audiences worldwide. Freedom Found is a must-read for Warren's legion of fans, ski history enthusiasts, adrenaline junkies and anyone whose interest is piqued by an extraordinary 20th-century success story. This is a heartwarming and at times heart-wrenching account of an American innovator who did it his own way, understood the importance of making people laugh, and never looked back.
A Life Worth Living
Lady Colin Campbell - 1997
She enjoyed privileges, but her teenage years were blighted, leaving her unable to receive essential medical treatment until she was 21. She became a model and a designer, and in the 1970s embarked on a short and violent marriage to Lord Colin Campbell. In this autobiography she writes of a life-long struggle to be accepted as the woman she is. She tells of her formative years in Jamaica and New York, her many love affairs, her connection with members of the Royal Family, her activities as a socialite and international charity organizer, and her current life as the fulfilled mother of two adopted Russian children.
Fire And Rain: The James Taylor Story
Ian Halperin - 2000
When he was seventeen years old, his demons led him to a Massachusetts mental institution where he confronted them the only way he knew how, by writing his first songs. Thirty years later, Taylor's songs are among the most popular in the annals of music, but the demons are still with him. But unlike many of his contemporaries who faced a similar struggle, Taylor managed to emerge as an inspirational figure. Fire and Rain traces this remarkable path, including his troubled marriage to pop star Carly Simon and the premature alcoholism-related death of his brother: Taylor's ten-month stay in the exclusive private psychiatric institution where he finished high school; His self-imposed exile to England where he submitted some of his music to the Beatles' Apple Records, which signed him to his first record contract in 1968. Paul McCartney mentored Taylor's early career; The story behind his second album, Sweet Baby James, which contained the song "Fire and Rain" about the hopelessness of mental illness and suicide; As Taylor's fame increased, so did his problems with heroin, alcohol, and mental illness. In the seventies, the singer nearly fell over the edge many times.
Send Them to Hell: The Brutal Horrors of Bangkok's Nightmare Jails
Sebastian Williams - 2009
Murder, human-rights abuse, drugs, prisoner and child sex slavery, blackmail, extortion, extreme violence, medical maltreatment, and unjustifiable death penalties feature as everyday occurrences in the living hells that are Bangkwang and Klong Prem jails. Sebastian Williams' blistering exposé graphically reveals this shocking reality through the eyes of a long-term inmate who has endured first hand the unimaginable, inhuman nightmare that constitutes the Thai penal system.
Jonesy: Put Your Head Down and Skate: The Improbable Career of Keith Jones
Keith Jones - 2007
The improbable hockey career of Jonsey started in 1992, when he was with the Washington Capitals. After a brief stint in Colorado, Keith was traded to Philadelphia, where is hard work, dirty play and colorful personality made him one of the more popular players in recent history. Jonsey is the story of Keith s career in the league as well as all of the interesting stories he accumulated over the course of his career, playing with some of the leagues best players in the last 15 years, including Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Mark Recchi and Eric Lindros. The book will include a forward written by Hall of Fame defense-man Ray Bourque.
Return to India
Shoba Narayan - 2011
Following in the tradition of her first book, Monsoon Diary: a memoir with recipes, award-winning author, Shoba Narayan explores themes of family, culture and identity. In vivid and heartfelt prose, Shoba Narayan describes the trajectory of her immigrant life from the salty plains of South India to the high rises of New York and Boston. From the exhilarating thrill of being a new immigrant to becoming an angst-ridden mother grappling with hyphenated identities, Narayan describes the life of an immigrant with humour and insight. She talks about why she yearned for America and became a citizen of the land she would ultimately leave. Return to India is about love and loss; about family and identity; and about the quest for a place called home. Return to India is about the costs of chasing the American dream and the complications of returning to your homeland. Rich in detail and empathetic in tone, this book will resonate with immigrants and diaspora from all cultures.
From Dreamer to Dreamfinder: A Life and Lessons Learned in 40 Years Behind a Name Tag
Ron Schneider - 2012
It's an intimate look into the creative worlds of Disney, Universal, and Six Flags Magic Mountain; a no-holds-barred memoir filled with wild characters and wilder concepts, complete with a step-by-step guide to how the magic is made!
Planet of the Umps: A Baseball Life from Behind the Plate
Ken Kaiser - 2003
From the first day he hit a minor league catcher with a pool table to the fateful day baseball called him out on a strike, Kaiser was one of the game's most popular and colorful characters. And in this autobiography-written with the co-author of Ron Luciano's classic bestseller The Umpire Strikes Back - Kaiser brings to life his wild adventures from the pro wrestling arena to the baseball diamond.This is the hysterically true story of four decades of baseball as lived and loved on the playing field, from Ted Williams and Billy Martin to Derek Jeter and Mark McGwire, from one-eyed umpires to space-age technology. And as he did throughout his long and sometimes controversial career, the larger-than-his-chest-protector Kaiser called 'em as he saw 'em.