When Sylvester Long shot and killed a young black man back in the winter of 1985, never in a million years did he expect the consequences that came as a result. After all he reasoned, he was only protecting his sister and furthermore, it was not his intent to kill anyone. The two had gotten into a fight and in the heat of the battle Sylvester ended up shooting the guy. What came next is where this story really begins. Sylvester was later found guilty of second-degree murder and would spend 15 years behind the cold, uncompromising prison bars of the State of Michigan correctional system. It would become a nightmare that will send shivers through your body and probably change the lives of many whose destiny will be changed forever as a result of reading this book. If you thought that slavery was dead, this book will reawaken the realities of a concept undeniably still alive, just hidden only to raise it's nasty head through another avenue of inescapable bondage. Each time you close this book you will be relieved at the fact that it is not your life, but someone else's. You will however be inspired as a result of the message that this book will leave with you. May your future be forever changed as a result of reading this story. This is a must read book... you may have "heard" about how it is to be in prison... or watched television prison shows... but this book is written by a man who has paid his debt to society. For 15 years Sylvester Long was in just about all of the Michigan Prisons... so he knows the ins and outs of how corrupt they are. He is also living proof that all doors aren't closed in your face when you're released from prison.