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jssummers's review
4.0
3.5⭐️
Received this as a free arc in exchange for a review. I enjoyed this book, but I wanted juicier details and more stories. Found it a little boring and not compelled to continue reading, although I did.
Received this as a free arc in exchange for a review. I enjoyed this book, but I wanted juicier details and more stories. Found it a little boring and not compelled to continue reading, although I did.
talesofaliteraryaddict's review
I don’t know how to rate this one so I’m going to leave it rating free.
It’s uncomfortable, edge of your seat squirming level of discomfort.
I don’t know whether to be proud of the author or utterly stunned that they were able to get a job in such a high security prison shortly after graduating. For me their inexperience shone through and there were numerous examples of power imbalances throughout including their relationship with Daniel - “despite the passion, he is manipulative and selfish”. That was unfortunately very abundant from the word go, although selfish is an interesting word when self aware.
The interactions with the prisoners was interesting and I would have been liked to know where more ended up. However, there were numerous instances where the author sounded like she had befriended the men “I have coped with hearing the offences and genuinely grown to like some of them as people, seeing beyond what they have done”. Maybe it’s because I’m not a psychologist but the repeated use of this kind of phraseology made the crimes seem insignificant and not like they were huge threat to not only the authors safety but also the general public. I found this particularly unnerving.
The ending gave me no further answers to the many questions I’m left with.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the advanced ebook
It’s uncomfortable, edge of your seat squirming level of discomfort.
I don’t know whether to be proud of the author or utterly stunned that they were able to get a job in such a high security prison shortly after graduating. For me their inexperience shone through and there were numerous examples of power imbalances throughout including their relationship with Daniel - “despite the passion, he is manipulative and selfish”. That was unfortunately very abundant from the word go, although selfish is an interesting word when self aware.
The interactions with the prisoners was interesting and I would have been liked to know where more ended up. However, there were numerous instances where the author sounded like she had befriended the men “I have coped with hearing the offences and genuinely grown to like some of them as people, seeing beyond what they have done”. Maybe it’s because I’m not a psychologist but the repeated use of this kind of phraseology made the crimes seem insignificant and not like they were huge threat to not only the authors safety but also the general public. I found this particularly unnerving.
The ending gave me no further answers to the many questions I’m left with.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the advanced ebook
wintrovia's review
4.0
I enjoy memoirs by people with unusual and grisly jobs, so this book appealed to me. I didn't expect the descriptions of the inmates offences to be quite so graphic or the book to be so focussed on the course used to treat sex offenders. But it was an interesting insight into a job I knew nothing about. It took a strong stomach to get through some sections as they described horrible crimes but it was needed to understand how the treatment then helped the inmates confront their offending behaviour and moved past it. One of the scariest things about this book was that it made me realise that some of society's worst criminals aren't monsters, they are fairly normal people that have had a few things go badly wrong in their lives that lead to them making awful decisions. It's easier to think of these people as monsters but it's only when you treat them like people that you can have a chance of reducing reoffending. A thought-provoking and very interesting read.
christine642's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
jane_kelsey's review
2.0
Going to dnf it at 54%... the half I resd so far about the SOTP is really interesting, but the book started to loose me, I have 0 interest in her personal life especially when it's about an affair with another facilitor.
piedwarbler's review
4.0
I listened to this on BorrowBox. It’s a tough listen with details of the most brutal crimes. It gives an honest insight into the work of a prison psychologist and Myers isn’t afraid to reveal her own sense of impostor syndrome and her doubts about whether or not she’s good enough for the job. She really does get thrown in at the deep end.
annecarts's review
4.0
A thought provoking read, although by it's nature an uncomfortable one. Trigger warnings for just about everything as although Dr Myers doesn't sensationalise anything and leaves lots of details out there are details of crimes and behaviour that would disturb most people.
It's different to other memoirs as it's more a focus on a small group of male offenders she works with in her early 20s as a new graduate and what they do in the sex offender therapy. Certainly thrown in at the deep end!
There's a lot to think about on how prisons are therapies are funded (or not), rehabilitation, and what this means for all our safety.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
It's different to other memoirs as it's more a focus on a small group of male offenders she works with in her early 20s as a new graduate and what they do in the sex offender therapy. Certainly thrown in at the deep end!
There's a lot to think about on how prisons are therapies are funded (or not), rehabilitation, and what this means for all our safety.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.