Unguarded Moments : Stories of Working Inside the Missouri State Penitentiary

In this first memoir about life in the Missouri State Penitentiary by a worker who was neither a prisoner nor a guard, Larry E Neal reveals a portrait of prison life very different from common conceptions. As a maintenance worker, Neal led prisoner work crews, and his stories show that life inside the prison walls could be surprisingly light-hearted, with prisoners and staff playing pranks on each other and crawling through dark tunnels together. In addition to a rare insider's view into prison humour, this book also gives readers a window into the rhythms of daily life inside and the shared humanity of everyone behind the walls.