On June 22nd, 2007, following a conviction for securities fraud, Jerry Byrne was sentenced to prison for 2 1/3rd to 7 years. Byrne is led away in tears. That very afternoon he is shackled and put on a steaming hot bus, along with 30 other prisoners, for the 2 hour drive out to notorious Rikers Island prison, NY. He spends his first night shuttled from cell to cell, one more overcrowded than the next. His journey begins........
His nightmarish 3 week stay at Rikers is followed by 3 weeks at Downstate Correctional Facility, a processing prison, where inmates get "state ready" for their eventual trip up North. Byrne eventually lands at Mohawk CF, in Rome NY, his new home for the next 11 months.
What began as letters and a blog to his parents and family, turns into a 'daily diary' detailing all that he experiences during his ordeal. He takes you from the heartache and despair of his new surroundings, introducing the many characters he meets along the way. From a double murderer who befriends Byrne on day 1, to the kidnappers, drug dealers, and sexual predators he encounters along the way. Every move is watched, there is no such thing as privacy. Byrne works hard at gaining respect, befriending one or two inmates who look out for him, but the slashings&fighting are everywhere. He lives in constant fear of making a false move and winding up in the dreaded "Box," a prison within a prison.
Follow him as the despair eventually turns into redemption and strength. For with the loss of freedom comes the realization that all those 'little things in life' that he once took for granted, mean so much to him now, and how he can't wait for the day to reclaim them. Vowing never to lose them again.
Not being able to bear the thought of subjecting his loving sons to witness him 'behind the wall,' Byrne is eventually released after 13 months and is reunited with his two sons.
