Sweet Hell On Fire: A Memoir Of The Prison I Worked In And The Prison I Lived In (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Sweet Hell on Fire, indeed. The writing is excellent; Sara Lunsford's experiences are laid bare to her readers.It is horrifying what she survived inside and outside of those prison walls.While majorities of women have never been, and will never be, correctional officers, Sara still has a message that all women need. We can be free from our own prisons, “You define you.”It is my dream to find that same courage. In reading Sara's book, I discovered that I am stronger than I thought I was. It is definitely time to "rack the door", take inventory, and get rid of the crap that draws me back into my self-made prison.Thank you, Sara I admit that part of the reason I didn't particularly like this book is it reminded me of a woman I know that I don't particularly care for, so that colored my views. But I also think there should be a limit on how many times one should be allowed to drop the F-bomb in one book. I'm not a prude; that's not the problem. I understand that there is a ton of profanity between inmates and correctional officers, so any time she quoted herself or an inmate and they cussed, I was okay with that. But she could have come up with better ways of describing things in between these quotes without resorting to profanity. I started re-writing certain phrases in my head as I read to see if I could remove the profanity and still make it powerful and strong. And sure enough, it could be done.I get that it's a thousand times harder to be a female officer than a male officer in such a male dominated world, and that she had to be much more creative in her dealings with the inmates to make sure she had the upper hand. But I got tired of her boiling most of her interactions down to "I proved I had a bigger dick." I understand that that's basically what has to happen, but it got old.I am also holding her to a slightly higher standard because in her bio, it states that she is a published author, though she writes under pseudonyms and none of her titles are mentioned, so she should have a pretty good idea on how to write. I'm glad she was able to come through this baptism by fire feeling like she triumphed over all the horrible things that happened to her, and I'm glad she reunited with her husband because it seemed like he really cared for her.
What do You think about Sweet Hell On Fire: A Memoir Of The Prison I Worked In And The Prison I Lived In (2012)?
A heart wrenching, no holds bar look at life on The Job. Full review closer to release day.
—TeeDee
addictive read - truly enjoyed her candor and honesty.
—addison666
