Nineteen years ago, Erwin James was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was in his twenties. Over the past three years, he has written powerfully about prison life for the Guardian. This book brings together these astonishing pieces.

A Life Inside is the story of a journey from vicious youth to reformed middle age. It does not glorify crime, nor does it seek to make excuses for its author's past. But Irwin James's account of his incarcerated life is a dramatic human story that no reader will readily forget.