Oxford ex-con’s hit book of life behind bars
Added: (Thu Nov 03 2022)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
A recovering drug addict from Oxford has reached the top of the book charts with his chilling account of life behind bars.
Michael Sloane was first locked up as a teenager, and for the following 20-odd years served time at several of the country’s prisons.
The 46-year-old has just published his first memoirs, The Ballad of Rochester Jail, to critical acclaim.
As well as reaching number one in Amazon’s biography charts, Michael’s debut publication has attracted a string of five-star reviews.
The Ballad of Rochester Jail has been described as ‘brutally honest’, ‘very insightful’, and ‘brilliantly written’ by captivated critics.
Reviewer Suenaila Akhtar stated: “A peek into a hidden world.”
Michael wrote the draft manuscript for The Ballad of Rochester Jail by long-hand on notepaper in his cell as a method of coping.
Now rewritten and edited, the memoirs provide a gripping account of life in a modern prison as well as highlighting the problems which are leading to most inmates returning to prison shortly after their release.
Michael said: “My book is about prison life with a few anecdotes of my own life from outside those walls thrown in.
“It gives the reader a look at the many different personalities in those places and the struggles they face on a day to day basis.
“The work paints a picture of what it is to be in prison today and the problems with the prison estate in the UK at present.
“I hope The Ballad of Rochester Jail demonstrates that cuts in funding for rehabilitation services are counter-productive, and that prison currently does not work to help the individual.”
Michael wrote from a young age as an act of escapism from a traumatic upbringing.
But it wasn’t until he was locked up for the first time, at the age of 17, that he developed a passion for literature.
He added: “Prior to going to prison I had never read a book.
“When I was 17 I discovered the joys of immersing myself in literature which took me away from the cell and environments I found myself in.
“For writing The Ballad of Rochester Jail I acted as a journalist - recording events almost every day of what was going on around me.”
Following the successful release of The Ballad of Rochester Jail, Michael has started work on a second set of memoirs first drafted during another stretch inside.
For more details, visit Amazon and search for M A Sloane, where the paperback and Kindle formats of The Ballad of Rochester Jail are both available.
Notes to the editor
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Since its launch, the company has assisted in the publication of around 2,000 books in a variety of genres for clients throughout the world.
For more details on PublishNation, visit their website at www.publishnation.co.uk