After undergoing surgery for severe back pain, Samuel Richards was put on a cocktail of pain medication and antidepressants. These triggered a mental break and exposed a latent bipolar disorder that caused the previously calm and successful registered nurse to lose control of his actions. His irrational and destructive behavior soon found him arrested and placed in the county jail on a one year sentence.
Through these engaging short stories and vignettes, the author recounts his experience in the overcrowded, rough, and dehumanizing conditions of our correctional facilities. He reflects on the minutiae of daily life on the inside while offering insightful reflections on the state of mental health and the crippled justice system. Heartbreaking, inspiring, and often darkly funny, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in the collision between the law and mental health.