A Bit of a Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner

Wow. For all that the structure is framed as journal entries, this was a remarkable mix of the personal and emotional with a detailed factual rebuttal of so, SO much that is wrong with Britain's prison system, and one prison in particular. Policies that sound good but negatively impact when implemented, good policies that just don't get implemented, lack of resources AND staff. Dryly humourous, empathetic, sad and horrifying. Incredible writing. The list of suggestions in the epilogue, acknowledged as being similar to those raised by others interested in prison reform, just makes it painfully clear that there are ways to make things better. I will keep researching on my journey to coherently supporting abolition, but that doesn't mean things can't get better for those people already in the system now. ⚠️addiction, suicide, self harm, mental health concerns