THE PRISON DOCTOR: My time inside Britain’s most notorious jails. THE HONEST, UNBELIEVABLE TRUE STORY AND A SUNDAY TIMES BEST SELLING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
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As seen on BBC Breakfast
Horrifying, heartbreaking and eye-opening, these are the stories, the patients and the cases that have characterised a career spent being a doctor behind bars.
Violence. Drugs. Suicide. Welcome to the world of a Prison Doctor.
Dr Amanda Brown has treated inmates in the UK’s most infamous prisons – first in young offenders’ institutions, then at the notorious Wormwood Scrubs and finally at Europe’s largest women-only prison in Europe, Bronzefield.
From miraculous pregnancies to dirty protests, and from violent attacks on prisoners to heartbreaking acts of self-harm, she has witnessed it all.
In this eye-opening, inspirational memoir, Amanda reveals the stories, the patients and the cases that have shaped a career helping those most of us would rather forget.
Despite their crimes, she is still their doctor.
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Additional information
| Publisher | HQ Non-Fiction (13 Jun. 2019) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 272 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0008311447 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0008311445 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 1.73 x 19.8 cm |
by Janie U
This book is described as eye opening and inspirational. I have spent some time working inside male and female prisons so I don’t expect to find out much that I haven’t come across. I am also already inspired by a doctor choosing to work inside the prisons doing what they can to help those who appear to be beyond help.
The author starts with some background and tells us how she came to the prison role then we are straight into her experiences. Through her patients the author tells of conditions in UK prisons today. She is compassion but has the ability to remove herself from the crimes that her patients have committed. In the same way that she never judges her patients she also does not criticise the prison system which is a welcome relief from the continual complaints fired at it from all sides. Actually she highlights some of the amazing people that work in the system which is a joy to read.
The writing is straight forward and clearly describes life without dumbing down or sensationalising. A doctor sees everyone from the governor to the lowliest prisoner so it’s great that she is having her say.
Aside from all the things that she sees she is able to explain about the passion for the environment that many employees have, how it “gets into your bones” and effects the rest of your life. On a personal level I was interested in how the authors value system changes with some parts of her life now seeming to be very trivial. I’ve experienced this to a lesser degree and it is an odd feeling when you’re really not interested in the social chitchat around you, preferring to talk about a violent offender and the conditions in which he is being kept.
This is also a reminder that the prison system should not be considered as a single entity – it is made up of many individuals working hard and many more individuals passing through its care, all with different backgrounds and reason for being there. She never lets us forget that even these tough, and sometimes violent, people are human with mothers and fathers (maybe partners and children too). The reader is encouraged to take time to think about the individuals as she sees tiny snapshots of their broken lives.
I know many who would not want to read this book but I would encourage anyone to (even if it then gives me a chance to talk more about prisons!!).
by Delia
I read the first book and could not wait to get started on reading the second, just got the third to go.
by Claire mclure
An amazing insight into prison life, Brilliantly written and heartfelt. Some of the stories are hard to believe and so upsetting.
by Mother Bear
Really interesting Dr Brown has a great way of telling about her patients is seems like she can say the right words to people they believe and she sees what she promises through.Thank you it was a great listen. I hope all the ladies have stayed as well as they can.
by GA
Have read one of the other books by this Author and was wonderful so looking forward to reading this one, only got it a few days ago so have not had time to read it yet but expect it to be just as good
by dc61
Not sure how anyone can move from a privileged background/life to dealing with the overwhelming issues encountered via the prisons. I really loved this book, smiling and gasping at all the ups and downs. The prisoners are lucky to have such a genuinely caring support in this doctor. I really do hope that at least one person succeeded in making the necessary changes to their lives. Society has a lot to answer for.
by Pamela Abbott
Great product, great service
by A. Customer
Dr Amanda Brown becomes disillusioned with working as a GP in a village (due to government policy) and quits her surgery and one night, whilst feeling frustrated, writes an article that is sent to a GP specific publication to get her feelings off her chest. This is spotted by another doctor who is recruiting doctors to work in prisons. Dr Brown decides to take a job working in prisons and this book relates stories and anecdotes from her time working in these prisons (Huntercombe, Bronzefield & Wormwood Scrubs)
This book is very easy to read although the subject matter can be sad with some of the stories that Dr Brown describes from the prisoners as heartbreaking. I found Dr Brown’s decision to leave her surgery to be very soft though. She’d worked in a surgery that she built up for years and decided due to new government legislation and a comment from one of her colleagues that she was going to quit!! I’m not a GP but I think most working people would be a little more resilient. And on top of that decides to go to work in a prison!
But it’s not a criticism of Dr Brown, she deserves credit for going to work in a place that most people would give a wide berth to and tries to change her patients lives for the better.
Dr Brown doesn’t really offer any opinions on the state of prisons or the prisoners. She doesn’t judge and this unfortunately makes the book somewhat ‘beige’ because I expect most readers will have opinions on crime and prison (and I expect Dr Brown is no different but she has chosen not to express them) but what you get is a book that is a doctors day to day work in a prison with some of the more varied situations added.
It was interesting to note however how Dr Brown’s attitude to life changes as she spends more time in prison. Her own ‘middle class’ values seem to become more irrelevant when faced with people who struggle just to survive and end up getting themselves put in prison due to poor (and sometimes unavoidable) life choices. But, like I said, there are many debates to be had about this topic. This book will not provide any answers but it may open some eyes and get people thinking and looking for more information and opinion on the matter.
Overall, a good book worth reading.