Erwin James lost his mother when he was seven. Shipped from home to home after his father turned to alcohol and violence, he committed his first crime of breaking and entering when he was ten. His petty crime turned increasingly violent, culminating in his convictions for murder, for which he was jailed for life at the age of 27.

Entering prison, James struggled to come to terms with the enormity of his crimes and a future without purpose or hope. Then he met Joan, a prison psychologist, who helped him to confront the painful truth of his past and to understand how it had shaped him from such a young age. Her sessions transformed his life.

Encouraged to read and to educate himself, over the next twenty years Erwin James would go on to receive a BA in History and become a regular columnist for the Guardian. This is a book that offers no excuses – only the need to understand how we become who we become, and shows that no matter how far a person may fall, redemption is possible with the right kind of help.

‘Honest and Compelling’ – Martina Cole

‘James shows in a brutally honest memoir how someone can be saved’ - Guardian

‘Beautifully written, shocking and provocative’ – Herald

‘A powerful and illuminating description of real life behind bars that stays in your mind long after you put the book down’ – Daily Express