The Prison Doctor: Women Inside by Dr Amanda Brown

It’s hard not to feel desperately sad when reading accounts from Dr Amanda Brown, a GP in Europe’s largest women-only prison.

She relays first-hand, heartbreaking stories of women who live from sentence to sentence – for whom a spell inside is preferable to life on the streets or being abused. But we also see incredible instances of determination to break this cycle, and how important a non-judgmental face is when rock bottom beckons. Dr Brown lays bare the health and social challenges facing these women with brutal honesty, shining a particular light on being a mother behind bars, and prisoners trying to come off drugs.