Retired Cotswolds Prison Officer’s life with infamous cons
Added: (Fri Sep 30 2022)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Daily dealings with some of the country’s most notorious prisoners has led to retired prison officer Tom Hill reaching the top of the book charts.
The 62-year-old decided to pen his story of three decades working at one of the country’s highest security prisons.
Life in the Max has already reached number one in Amazon’s biography charts and attracted a lengthy string of five-star reviews.
The gritty account of working at HM Prison Long Lartin has been described by critics as ‘honest and accurate’, ‘a great insight’, and ‘… read it in a day’.
Reviewer Nigel Alexander stated: “A true reflection of the human side of the job nobody understands.”
The honest and open account of 32 years working with over 500 murderers, rapists and paedophiles is an eye-opener from the first page.
But Life in the Max is much more than a catalogue of violence and threats, it is a story of friendships and hope despite being part of a service that is poorly resourced and often overlooked.
Tom, who now splits his time between the Cotswolds and southern Italy, said: “Life in the Max navigates through my sometimes-rocky path in the prison service.”
“I concentrate on stories and relationships that were personal to me, where we meet the good, the bad and the very bad along the way.”
“It’s about how me and my colleagues dealt with the madness and mayhem in our own style, as best we could, often with little funding and support.”
“For us, we were the forgotten service.”
In January 1988, Tom Hill took his first steps into the ‘Big House’ as a fresh-faced new recruit of Her Majesty’s Prison Service.
From terrorism to tea-making, with some murders, riots, and attempted breakouts in between, Life in the Max doesn’t pull any punches.
Although never having planned to write his memoirs, Tom was encouraged to put pen to paper by a few of his fellow officers.
He explained: “For many years I have been told that I can tell a good story and should consider writing a book about my experiences and adventures in the service.”
“The day I retired my colleagues said, ‘get that book wrote’.”
“I gave the draft of Life in the Max to some of my friends and former colleagues, and they all gave me positive reviews.”
“One colleague asked who my ghost writer was, and another friend enjoyed the close relationships between staff and prisoners - it was something they were not expecting.”
Away from work as a prison officer, the father-of-one enjoyed sporting success on the football pitch, as a motocross rider, and also, more recently, as an endurance athlete – having completed a full Ironman in under 15 hours and also completing the infamous Alcatraz swim.
For more information visit Amazon and search for Tom Hill, where the Kindle and paperback versions of Life in the Max are available.
Notes to the Editor
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