This is an outrageous story that was told to me by a violent and colorful prisoner nicknamed Rooster.
In expanding and retelling that story here, I imagined what some of the characters may have looked like, what they may have said, and even what they may have thought, all based on a composite of people I have known and the experiences I’ve had during my forty-six years spent in fifteen different prisons. It’s also the true story of an older prisoner I befriended named Jack. Jack’s story, while not as violent, is equally memorable – and sadly, all too common in America’s prisons.
This book is about friendship, loyalty, commonalities, and perseverance. Above all, it’s about daring to hope while in an apparently hopeless situation.
So few of us know what day to day life is like inside a prison, what the prisoners do and say to each other. Troy has been in prison, many different prisons for many years, and he knows. He also knows how to tell a good story. He’s a writer, but he’s also an artist, so he did drawings to go with his stories.
