Midnight Return: Escaping Midnight Express

by Billy Hayes

Midnight Return picks up where Midnight Express left off. Billy Hayes leapt from prison isolation to international notoriety when the book about his five years in and escape from a Turkish prison became a worldwide bestseller, and an Academy Award-winning film. Midnight Return chronicles his struggles and triumphs in that transition, tracing Billy’s journey from desperation to freedom, and even true love. It revisits his daring escape in more detail, and weaves in the harrowing story of his friend who remained behind and Billy’s efforts to help free him. We take the ride with Billy as he sometimes stumbles along a path toward healing, self-knowledge, and a new life incorporating his hardest won lessons--to a place where he can say that being arrested and sentenced to life in prison was both the worst and the best thing that ever happened to him. In 1970 Billy Hayes was an English major who left college in search of adventures to write about, like his hero Jack London. He had a rude awakening when he was arrested at the airport in Istanbul trying to board a plane while carrying four pounds of hashish, and given a life sentence. After five brutal years, relentless efforts by his family to gain his release, and endless escape plotting, Billy took matters into his own hands and pulled off a daring escape to freedom. Soon after, he wrote Midnight Express.

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2012

Reviews

[Joan Fun · Rating 1 out of 5]

Struggled to finish this, the author is a complete misogynist. The way he speaks about women is quite extraordinary.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Billy Hayes, escaping the Turkish prison system was not the end of his story. In 'Midnight Return', he relates the culture shock of returning to America as a minor celebrity.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1970, Billy Hayes an English major wants to write about his adventures. He had a rude awakening when he was arrested at the Istanbul Airport with 4 pounds of Hashish he planned to take with him to the United States. He was given a life sentence for his mistake. He served 5 years of his sentence with the hope of being released. Turkish lawyers kept promising that since he was a model prisoner the judge may grant him a release. None of that materialized. His family desperately were also trying to get him his freedom. His harrowing experience was expressed in a worldwide novel and an Academy Award winning film. After several escape plotting schemes he does indeed pull off one of the most daring escapes possible.

This novel Midnight Returns, picks up where Midnight Express left off. Billy Hayes chronicles his escape in detail and the harrowing feat and desperation and determination to get out of Turkey and eventually on U.S soil. This book explores his struggles and triumphs with the transition of being a prisoner to a free life. The novel weaves the heart breaking effort of trying to get his friend Harvey that still remained in the hell hole released. That too, was problematic for both Billy and Harvey but their undeniably friendship that kept both of them alive while in prison was still unbelievable strong even though Billy was a free man. Billy and Harvey did keep in contact by letters which helped Harvey pass the endless time away.

We are shown through out the novel the ride of stumbling with celebrity notoriety, self discovery and self knowledge while healing from a horrific ordeal. Those lessons he learned were probably the worst and best humbling ones that has helped his self healing process.