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chaterbox87's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
3.75
attackrat's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
4.25
“Every link in the chain is broken… broken beyond repair.”
Absolutely horrifying and very important look into the carceral system, from someone who is intimate with the psychology of imprisoned people. Highly recommend for anyone who is questioning the prison industrial complex.
One thing of note: it is from the perspective of a white woman. She is careful to include how race plays a part in mass incarceration and does not sugarcoat the racism of the system but I feel the perspective is important.
I also think that, due to her placement as a prison psychologist, she is hesitant to place any blame on those enforcing the system in this book. There is little to no mention of the brutality of prison workers and police, and this book fails in that aspect.
Absolutely horrifying and very important look into the carceral system, from someone who is intimate with the psychology of imprisoned people. Highly recommend for anyone who is questioning the prison industrial complex.
One thing of note: it is from the perspective of a white woman. She is careful to include how race plays a part in mass incarceration and does not sugarcoat the racism of the system but I feel the perspective is important.
I also think that, due to her placement as a prison psychologist, she is hesitant to place any blame on those enforcing the system in this book. There is little to no mention of the brutality of prison workers and police, and this book fails in that aspect.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
melissatrouttt's review against another edition
5.0
Riveting. Truly thought provoking and challenging. I throughly enjoyed learning from this book.
cassandralovesfeta's review
5.0
Truly outstanding & eye opening. It’ll be awhile before I stop talking about this one.
kimskim's review
4.0
Another great book with dark yet necessary insights into the American prison system. It is incredibly hard to read this book and see that there is something that could be done (and has been done in other countries) but feel like the uphill battle to get it done in the U.S. will be incredibly immense. I still feel like I need more time to process what I read in this book. However, I will say that [a:Christine Montross|521362|Christine Montross|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1408378763p2/521362.jpg] did a wonderful job researching and writing this book. Must read for anyone trying to help with changing our nations justice system.
theythemsam's review against another edition
5.0
I learned so much from this book omg. “There is no American dream with no American massacre” said by the author and “The opposite of poverty is not wealth, the opposite of poverty is justice” by Bryan Stevenson are quotes that I liked and felt deeply with in the book. Also fuck prisons fr and the American “justice” system
sperigo's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Incredible read. I’m shocked I don’t hear more about this book. It should be required reading.
paulataua's review
4.0
You have to fully support any book that outlines the horrors of aspects of social policy even when they present little that surprises. It is an important read. Montross exposes the ease with which the mentally ill can find themselves thrust into the penal system and the atrocious conditions and treatment that they, and other prisoners, are subjected to. Once exposed the author moves on to suggest alternative and more enlightened approaches, leaning heavily on examples from Scandinavia. All very admirable! Unfortunately, the one thing that really did hit home for me was the discussion of Nutraloaf, an apparently foul tasting mess that meets dietary requirements and is often given to inmates in the US who misbehave. I couldn’t help thinking how the book is talking of enlightening people about more humane ways of treating inmates when those presently responsible for and involved in prisons are really not the least bit interested in being humane. Please read!