An Irish Times and The i Book of 2022'Tense and intimate . . . an education' - Geoff Dyer'Enriching, sobering and at times heartrending. A wonder' - Sir Lenny Henry'Authentic, fascinating and deeply moving' - Terry Waite__________Can someone in prison be more free than someone outside? Would we ever be good if we never felt shame? What makes a person worthy of forgiveness?Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. Every day he has conversations with people inside about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings, and listens as they explore new ways to think about their situation.When Andy steps into a prison, he also confronts his inherited shame: his father, uncle and brother all spent time behind bars. While Andy has built a different life for himself, he still fears that their fate will also be his. As he discusses pressing questions of truth, identity and hope with his students, he searches for his own form of freedom too.Moving, sympathetic, wise and frequently funny, The Life Inside is an elegantly written and unforgettable memoir. Through a blend of storytelling and gentle philosophical questioning, it offers a new insight into our stretched justice system, our failing prisons and the complex lives being lived inside.__________'Inspiring' - The Observer'Strives with humour and compassion to understand the phenomenon of prison' - Sydney Review of Books'Expands both heart and mind' - Ciaran Thapar'A fascinating and enlightening journey . . . A legitimate page-turner' - 3AM

This book is about John Williams’s life,and how he faced the many challenges and obstacles throughout his life. Sometimes the choices he made thought out his life, were not always in his best interest, as he would usually find himself in a place where he really didn’t want to be. We are all the sum total of our life experiences. John Williams shares his unique life beginning with his tumultuous and often risky youth, military service, and a union leader culminating in his lengthy career as a Corrections Officer. His story is mesmerizing as it is timely. We all reflect on what makes one good or bad as we reach our senior years. John Williams knows that only quirks of fate, good luck and for the grace of God that he didn’t wind up on the wrong side of the bars. John Williams story is authentic and well worth the read.

In the mid 1980s Erwin James was sentenced to life imprisonment. Over recent years, he has written powerfully about prison life for the Guardian. James writes candidly about learning the who, what, why and when of the prison world.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The triumphant true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Horse and The Eighty-Dollar Champion “The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now.”—Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn’t even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness. Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America’s big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met ordinary people and celebrities—from Andrew Wyeth (who sketched Tarzan) to Art Linkletter and Groucho Marx. She received many offers—a permanent home at a riding stable in New Jersey, a job at a gas station in rural Kentucky, even a marriage proposal from a Wyoming rancher. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television’s influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.

“Who better to raise teens’ awareness of mental illness and health than the YA authors they admire?” —Booklist (starred review) “[A] much-needed, enlightening book.” —School Library Journal (starred review) Your favorite YA authors including Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, and more recount their own experiences with mental health in this raw, real, and powerful collection of essays that explores everything from ADD to PTSD. Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t get out of bed? Not the occasional morning, but every day? Do you find yourself listening to a voice in your head that says “you’re not good enough,” “not good looking enough,” “not thin enough,” or “not smart enough”? Have you ever found yourself unable to do homework or pay attention in class unless everything is “just so” on your desk? Everyone has had days like that, but what if you have them every day? You’re not alone. Millions of people are going through similar things. However issues around mental health still tend to be treated as something shrouded in shame or discussed in whispers. It’s easier to have a broken bone—something tangible that can be “fixed”—than to have a mental illness, and easier to have a discussion about sex than it is to have one about mental health. Life Inside My Mind is an anthology of true-life events from writers of this generation, for this generation. These essays tackle everything from neurodiversity to addiction to OCD to PTSD and much more. The goals of this book range from providing a home to those who are feeling alone, awareness to those who are witnessing a friend or family member struggle, and to open the floodgates to conversation.

From a federal inmate with two decades of continuous confinement comes a controversial expose of the shocking details of life in American prisons

An insider's account of the wild and wacky teams that created cartoon classics for Warner Bros. and MGM Animation

Addresses the issues of self and self-esteem, demonstrating how to fully realize one's own power through a plan that explains how to overcome fear and fulfill personal potential.

Why would a successful, twelve-year Secret Service agent resign his position in the prime of his career to run for political office against all the odds? How does the Washington DC “Bubble”—a haze of lobbyists, cronyists, staff, acolytes, consultants, and bureaucrats—surrounding the President distort his view of the world? Take the journey with Dan Bongino from the tough streets of New York City where he was raised, and later patrolled as a member of the NYPD, to the White House as a member of the elite Presidential Protective Division, through his ultimate decision to resign from the Secret Service in the prime of his career to run for the United States Senate against the feared Maryland Democratic machine. Follow his experiences inside the Washington DC “Bubble” and uncover why a government that includes the incredibly dedicated people he encountered while within it continues to make tragic mistakes. Learn how… • Bureaucratic laziness allows the NSA collection scandal to continue • The Department of Justice’s unwillingness to take on the tough cases allowed “Fast & Furious” to arm criminals • The Obama administration allowed US citizens to die in Benghazi in the worst dereliction of responsibility over security ever • The “Politics of Protection” leads to dangerous policies that weaken our country and cost American lives “A rare peak inside the DC ‘Bubble’ which should be a wake-up call to every American.” —Sean Hannity

Words of wisdom and encouraging phrases are paired with illustrations from the animated film.