Inside Out: Voices Unlocked

About the Book

This is a true account of the five years I spent working in a high security jail in the UK. I include stories from prisoners; these stories were volunteered. I do not include any names or specific descriptions of individuals but rather refer to them as anonymous voices. This book provides a unique insight into life in jail arising from my unusual position as a teacher who worked outside the “normal” classroom situation, in a capacity of outreach to every prison location from the wings to the kitchens. The book charts my journey to each location in the prison and presents a ‘whole’ prison experience as I worked from induction (where men had recently arrived in the jail) to the wings, where some men were serving life. I present my experience, as it was, a remarkable connection with human beings, who in any other context, one might term as ‘normal’. In the end this is not my story; this is their story and I leave the reader to make their own judgment.

About the Author

Jenna Carter’s experience of working in a high security prison as a teacher for five years inspired her to write this book. She is an English teacher who has worked for several years in mainstream education as well as with offenders. She now works as a community outreach teacher with the unemployed.