Name: Aimee Kitching 's review of Strangeways by NEIL. SAMWORTH
Item: Strangeways
Rating: 5
Author: Aimee Kitching

NEIL. SAMWORTH

Neil 'Sam' Samworth spent eleven years working as a prison officer in HMP Manchester, aka Strangeways. A tough Yorkshireman with a soft heart, Sam had to deal with it all - gangsters and gangbangers, terrorists and psychopaths, addicts and the mentally ill. Men who should not be locked up and men who should never be let out. Strangeways by Neil Samworth is a shocking and at times darkly funny account of life in a high security prison. Sam tackles cell fires and self-harmers, and goes head to head with some of the most dangerous men in the country. He averts a Christmas Day riot after turkey is taken off the menu and replaced by fish curry, and stands up to officers who abuse their position. He describes being attacked by prisoners, and reveals the problems caused by radicalization and the drugs flooding our prisons. As staffing cuts saw Britain's prison system descend into crisis, the stress of the job - the suicides, the inhumanity of the system, and one assault too many - left Sam suffering from PTSD. This raw, searingly honest memoir is a testament to the men and women of the prison service and the incredibly difficult job we ask them to do.

A Prison Officer's Story

Strangeways

Aimee Kitching 

A brilliantly funny , heart warming yet emotional read . 
I was apprehensive at first reading this book given I am just about to leave the education sector in favour of the prison service , yes it was an eye opener but great to hear some genuine stories from the front line without the media hype.

Neil Samworth

This Sunday Times bestseller is a shocking and at times darkly funny account of life as a prison officer in HMP Manchester. 'Authentic, tough, horrifying in some places and hilarious in others . . . the author’s honesty and decency shine through' – Jonathan Aitken ______________ Neil ‘Sam’ Samworth spent eleven years working as a prison officer in HMP Manchester, aka Strangeways. A tough Yorkshireman with a soft heart, Sam had to deal with it all – gangsters and gangbangers, terrorists and psychopaths, addicts and the mentally ill. Men who should not be locked up and men who should never be let out. He tackles cell fires and self-harmers, and goes head to head with some of the most dangerous men in the country. He describes being attacked by prisoners, and reveals the problems caused by radicalization and the drugs flooding our prisons. As staffing cuts saw Britain’s prison system descend into crisis, the stress of the job – the suicides, the inhumanity of the system, and one assault too many – left Sam suffering from PTSD. Strangeways by Neil Samworth is a raw, searingly honest memoir that is a testament to the men and women of the prison service and the incredibly difficult job we ask them to do. ______________ 'A frequently shocking read' – Daily Express

Rob Deakin

Britain's prison system is in crisis. Prisoners catatonic on Spice, prison officers under extreme stress, overcrowding, riots, fatal stabbings - barely a week goes by without disturbing reports reaching the outside world of life inside our jails. For eleven years, Neil Samworth worked as a prison officer in perhaps the most notorious of all prisons, Strangeways, now HM Prison Manchester. He left in 2016 and, having kept a diary for many years, is ready to tell his story. Strangeways: My Life As A Prison Officer is a no-holds-barred account of one man's struggle to keep his professional composure and sanity in one of Britain's toughest jails. From the chaotic, intimidating atmosphere of K wing, which houses more than 200 prisoners spread over three landings, to the healthcare unit where the prison's most mentally disturbed prisoners are held, Neil has seen it all - cell fires, suicides, terrifying violence. He has had to beat back his own emotions as he deals with psychopathic killers and witnessed the worst of human nature but also the best, and some of the most moving passages in the book recall the embattled camaraderie among his colleagues.

Aimee Kitching &
Strangeways by NEIL. SAMWORTH

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