After 13 years of struggle, and despite several modest recording and publishing deals in the United Kingdom, Australia, and The United States, Robert Reilly found himself broke and on the edge of despair. The specter of success in the music business had become a monster about to ruin his marriage and turn him into the sort of father who never saw his children. Something had to change, or something was going to break beyond repair. A chance conversation with a neighbor led him to apply, somewhat halfheartedly, for a job at the county prison. Although he hated the thought of a "real job," a regular salary of $40,000 with benefits and paid time off seemed like a small fortune. "Amazingly, I somehow got hired. So, in an effort to do the right thing and put my family first, I left the madness of the music industry and entered the insanity of the U. S. prison system."

In this gripping nonfiction account, Robert Reilly provides a look inside America's prison system unlike any other, and the way it affects not only the prisoners themselves, but also the corrections officers and their families.

Independent Publisher's Association Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medalist for the Best New Voice