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How to Not Die in Prison: A Survival Guide
The debut book from Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Taylor Sheridan, creator of Landman and cocreator of Yellowstone—a no-bullsh*t, darkly funny survival guide to life inside a maximum-security prison, cowritten with prison-hardened ex-con Tom Nelson.
So, you f*cked up. Can't talk your way out of it, buy your way out of it, or beg your way out of it.
You are going to prison. You will be living under a set of rules made up by men who have demonstrated to society that they need a big ol' time out. There is no book of these rules. Nobody will tell them to you. But when you break one—boy, will you know it. For the newbie, the fish, the fresh meat—this book is your survival guide. How to mind your business without becoming a target. When to walk away. When to stand your ground.
This is how you don't die. Follow the advice in this book, and you just might make it out alive.
So, you f*cked up. Can't talk your way out of it, buy your way out of it, or beg your way out of it.
You are going to prison. You will be living under a set of rules made up by men who have demonstrated to society that they need a big ol' time out. There is no book of these rules. Nobody will tell them to you. But when you break one—boy, will you know it. For the newbie, the fish, the fresh meat—this book is your survival guide. How to mind your business without becoming a target. When to walk away. When to stand your ground.
This is how you don't die. Follow the advice in this book, and you just might make it out alive.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published June 23, 2026
About the author
Taylor Sheridan
10 books66 followersTaylor Sheridan is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Emmy-nominated producer, and the creator, writer, director, and executive producer of multiple record-breaking series including Yellowstone, Landman, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, 1883, 1923, Lioness, and The Madison. His acclaimed screenplays include Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River, which he also directed, earning him Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. Sheridan owns and operates two Texas ranches including the legendary Four Sixes (6666) Ranch and Bosque Ranch.
source: Amazon
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
June 28, 2026
3.6 - Information I will (hopefully) never need :)
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March 16, 2026Picked this up out of curiosity. Read half of it in one day. Taylor Sheridan wrote about 10% of this and his (ex-convict) friend Tom Nelson wrote the rest. Both are extremely voice-y writers. Makes for quite an interesting read !
July 12, 2026
Excellent information delivered in a no-nonsense manner.
August 4, 2026
Fun book- kinda a lot for someone never intending to go to prison.
August 11, 2026
I enjoyed this book, as it is a unique topic…. 4 stars due to a couple of dead space/time consuming chapters.
July 25, 2026
I first became interested in this book after watching Taylor Sheridan discuss it during an interview with Howard Stern. Fictional shows and true-crime content can sometimes make us feel as though we understand prison life, but this book revealed how widely those experiences can vary and how complicated the reality truly is.
The book also offered many valuable lessons that extend beyond prison, particularly about dealing with unpredictable people, making careful decisions, prioritizing self-care, and recognizing that our actions can have lasting consequences. I have never been to prison and certainly do not plan to go, but the insight provided throughout the book gave me greater empathy for everyone affected by crime and incarceration.
My thoughts are with victims and their families, as well as incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. We are all human, and I do not believe it is fair to judge the entirety of someone’s life without understanding the circumstances and experiences that shaped it.
Despite the seriousness and emotional weight of the subject, the book was also unexpectedly hilarious at times.
The book also offered many valuable lessons that extend beyond prison, particularly about dealing with unpredictable people, making careful decisions, prioritizing self-care, and recognizing that our actions can have lasting consequences. I have never been to prison and certainly do not plan to go, but the insight provided throughout the book gave me greater empathy for everyone affected by crime and incarceration.
My thoughts are with victims and their families, as well as incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. We are all human, and I do not believe it is fair to judge the entirety of someone’s life without understanding the circumstances and experiences that shaped it.
Despite the seriousness and emotional weight of the subject, the book was also unexpectedly hilarious at times.
July 1, 2026
I learned where and how to hide things, how to make a shiv, how to do prison tattoos, and how to make some recipes.
August 13, 2026
A fascinating look into an American subculture governed by unwritten rules, informal hierarchies, and a code of conduct that most people will never encounter. Whether you’re interested in criminology, sociology, or simply understanding a hidden world, this book offers an eye-opening perspective.
August 8, 2026
How to Not Die in Prison: A Survival Guide by Taylor Sheridan and Tom Nelson is a blunt, darkly funny, and surprisingly human look at life inside maximum-security prison. Published in June 2026, the book is presented as a practical guide for someone who has suddenly found himself facing incarceration, but it is also much more than that. Beneath its crude humor and deliberately outrageous language is a serious examination of prison culture, survival, mental health, relationships, violence, and the difficult journey back into ordinary life. Sheridan brings his experience as a writer and filmmaker fascinated by crime and prison systems, while Nelson contributes firsthand knowledge from more than seventeen years spent in medium- and maximum-security prisons.
The book begins with an uncomfortable reality: prison operates according to rules that are rarely written down. A newcomer may know the official rules of the institution, but those rules do not necessarily explain how to behave around other prisoners, how to avoid unnecessary conflict, or how to understand the social hierarchy. The authors therefore approach prison as a world with its own language, customs, alliances, dangers, and unwritten expectations. Their first lesson is essentially one of awareness: a new prisoner must observe, listen, and learn before assuming that ordinary social habits will work behind bars.
The opening sections introduce the reader to the shock of incarceration. The authors discuss the transition from county jail to prison and the psychological adjustment required when freedom suddenly disappears. Everyday activities become controlled by schedules and institutional rules. Privacy becomes scarce, personal possessions become limited, and even seemingly simple decisions can have consequences. The authors' humor makes these experiences easier to read about, but the underlying message is bleak: prison is not an adventure or a badge of toughness; it is an environment in which mistakes can carry serious consequences.
A major part of the book concerns relationships and social survival. Prisoners quickly learn that they cannot interact with everyone in the same way. The authors discuss friendships, rivalries, prison groups, cellmates, guards, and the importance of staying out of unnecessary disputes. One of the recurring lessons is to avoid drawing attention to yourself for the wrong reasons. The book encourages readers to understand their surroundings, respect boundaries, and recognize when a situation is becoming dangerous rather than trying to prove themselves.
The discussion of prison gangs and informal alliances reveals how complicated prison society can become. People form groups for protection, companionship, identity, and practical reasons, but those associations can also create obligations and conflicts. The authors emphasize that survival often depends less on being the strongest person in the room than on knowing when to speak, when to listen, when to walk away, and when a situation requires firm boundaries.
The book then turns to the prison economy. Work assignments, commissary, privileges, and informal exchanges all become part of daily life. The authors explain how prisoners adapt to limited resources and create small systems of trade and social interaction. Food becomes particularly important. The book describes ways prisoners combine commissary ingredients into improvised meals, turning limited supplies into something more satisfying than institutional food. These passages are often comic, but they also demonstrate human adaptability: even in an intensely controlled environment, people find ways to create small pleasures and a sense of normality.
When the book reaches the section dealing with emergencies, its tone becomes more serious. Riots, lockdowns, violence, solitary confinement, and other dangers are discussed from the perspective of someone trying to remain alive and mentally intact. The authors' basic message is not to seek confrontation or imitate prison violence but to avoid becoming part of it whenever possible. The book also discusses the reality of physical danger without romanticizing it. The emphasis remains on awareness, restraint, and survival rather than bravado.
Health is another major concern. Prisoners may have limited access to medical care, restricted food choices, and difficult living conditions. The authors discuss the effects of poor nutrition, stress, inadequate healthcare, and long periods of inactivity. Their observations reveal that surviving prison is not simply about avoiding violence. A person must also take care of the body under circumstances that may make ordinary self-care difficult.
The authors give particular attention to mental health. Prison can create loneliness, anxiety, anger, depression, hopelessness, and emotional numbness. The book discusses the psychological strain of confinement and the importance of finding constructive ways to occupy the mind. Reading, studying, creating art, exercising, developing skills, and maintaining some form of spiritual life can help a prisoner retain a sense of identity. The authors treat mental survival as just as important as physical survival.
Relationships with people outside prison form another emotional center of the book. The authors discuss visiting days, letters, phone calls, care packages, romantic relationships, and parenting from prison. These connections can provide motivation, but they can also become complicated by distance, shame, financial pressures, and the emotional burden placed on loved ones. The book recognizes that incarceration affects entire families rather than only the person serving the sentence.
Eventually, the guide turns toward reentry. This is one of its most important sections because leaving prison does not automatically mean returning to a normal life. Former prisoners must find employment, rebuild relationships, deal with restrictions, adjust to technology and social changes, and resist the habits that contributed to their incarceration. The authors stress that freedom brings its own challenges. Without the structure of prison, a person must make responsible decisions independently.
Tom Nelson's own story gives this section particular weight. His past included drug addiction and serious crimes, followed by more than seventeen years behind bars. After prison, he rebuilt his life and became a husband, father, and personal trainer. His experience demonstrates that a criminal past does not have to remain the final definition of a person's identity.
Ultimately, How to Not Die in Prison is not really a celebration of prison survival. Its deeper lesson is that the best way to survive prison is not to go there in the first place—and, if you do, to use the experience as an opportunity to change. Sheridan and Nelson deliberately strip away the glamour sometimes associated with prison stories. Their world is frightening, restrictive, lonely, and exhausting.
The book's humor makes its difficult subject accessible, but its final message is serious. Prison exposes the consequences of destructive choices, yet it also demonstrates the possibility of adaptation, learning, and redemption. By the end, the focus has shifted from surviving incarceration to building a life that makes returning to prison unnecessary.
In that sense, How to Not Die in Prison is ultimately a book about consequences, resilience, and second chances. It offers an unusually direct look at a hidden social world while reminding readers that the most valuable freedom is the freedom to make better choices before those choices disappear.
The book begins with an uncomfortable reality: prison operates according to rules that are rarely written down. A newcomer may know the official rules of the institution, but those rules do not necessarily explain how to behave around other prisoners, how to avoid unnecessary conflict, or how to understand the social hierarchy. The authors therefore approach prison as a world with its own language, customs, alliances, dangers, and unwritten expectations. Their first lesson is essentially one of awareness: a new prisoner must observe, listen, and learn before assuming that ordinary social habits will work behind bars.
The opening sections introduce the reader to the shock of incarceration. The authors discuss the transition from county jail to prison and the psychological adjustment required when freedom suddenly disappears. Everyday activities become controlled by schedules and institutional rules. Privacy becomes scarce, personal possessions become limited, and even seemingly simple decisions can have consequences. The authors' humor makes these experiences easier to read about, but the underlying message is bleak: prison is not an adventure or a badge of toughness; it is an environment in which mistakes can carry serious consequences.
A major part of the book concerns relationships and social survival. Prisoners quickly learn that they cannot interact with everyone in the same way. The authors discuss friendships, rivalries, prison groups, cellmates, guards, and the importance of staying out of unnecessary disputes. One of the recurring lessons is to avoid drawing attention to yourself for the wrong reasons. The book encourages readers to understand their surroundings, respect boundaries, and recognize when a situation is becoming dangerous rather than trying to prove themselves.
The discussion of prison gangs and informal alliances reveals how complicated prison society can become. People form groups for protection, companionship, identity, and practical reasons, but those associations can also create obligations and conflicts. The authors emphasize that survival often depends less on being the strongest person in the room than on knowing when to speak, when to listen, when to walk away, and when a situation requires firm boundaries.
The book then turns to the prison economy. Work assignments, commissary, privileges, and informal exchanges all become part of daily life. The authors explain how prisoners adapt to limited resources and create small systems of trade and social interaction. Food becomes particularly important. The book describes ways prisoners combine commissary ingredients into improvised meals, turning limited supplies into something more satisfying than institutional food. These passages are often comic, but they also demonstrate human adaptability: even in an intensely controlled environment, people find ways to create small pleasures and a sense of normality.
When the book reaches the section dealing with emergencies, its tone becomes more serious. Riots, lockdowns, violence, solitary confinement, and other dangers are discussed from the perspective of someone trying to remain alive and mentally intact. The authors' basic message is not to seek confrontation or imitate prison violence but to avoid becoming part of it whenever possible. The book also discusses the reality of physical danger without romanticizing it. The emphasis remains on awareness, restraint, and survival rather than bravado.
Health is another major concern. Prisoners may have limited access to medical care, restricted food choices, and difficult living conditions. The authors discuss the effects of poor nutrition, stress, inadequate healthcare, and long periods of inactivity. Their observations reveal that surviving prison is not simply about avoiding violence. A person must also take care of the body under circumstances that may make ordinary self-care difficult.
The authors give particular attention to mental health. Prison can create loneliness, anxiety, anger, depression, hopelessness, and emotional numbness. The book discusses the psychological strain of confinement and the importance of finding constructive ways to occupy the mind. Reading, studying, creating art, exercising, developing skills, and maintaining some form of spiritual life can help a prisoner retain a sense of identity. The authors treat mental survival as just as important as physical survival.
Relationships with people outside prison form another emotional center of the book. The authors discuss visiting days, letters, phone calls, care packages, romantic relationships, and parenting from prison. These connections can provide motivation, but they can also become complicated by distance, shame, financial pressures, and the emotional burden placed on loved ones. The book recognizes that incarceration affects entire families rather than only the person serving the sentence.
Eventually, the guide turns toward reentry. This is one of its most important sections because leaving prison does not automatically mean returning to a normal life. Former prisoners must find employment, rebuild relationships, deal with restrictions, adjust to technology and social changes, and resist the habits that contributed to their incarceration. The authors stress that freedom brings its own challenges. Without the structure of prison, a person must make responsible decisions independently.
Tom Nelson's own story gives this section particular weight. His past included drug addiction and serious crimes, followed by more than seventeen years behind bars. After prison, he rebuilt his life and became a husband, father, and personal trainer. His experience demonstrates that a criminal past does not have to remain the final definition of a person's identity.
Ultimately, How to Not Die in Prison is not really a celebration of prison survival. Its deeper lesson is that the best way to survive prison is not to go there in the first place—and, if you do, to use the experience as an opportunity to change. Sheridan and Nelson deliberately strip away the glamour sometimes associated with prison stories. Their world is frightening, restrictive, lonely, and exhausting.
The book's humor makes its difficult subject accessible, but its final message is serious. Prison exposes the consequences of destructive choices, yet it also demonstrates the possibility of adaptation, learning, and redemption. By the end, the focus has shifted from surviving incarceration to building a life that makes returning to prison unnecessary.
In that sense, How to Not Die in Prison is ultimately a book about consequences, resilience, and second chances. It offers an unusually direct look at a hidden social world while reminding readers that the most valuable freedom is the freedom to make better choices before those choices disappear.
July 31, 2026
Det här gör ont att skriva. Jag är nämligen ett stort fan av Taylor Sheridan. Jag skulle utan större övertalning kunna försvara större delen av Yellowstone-universumet vid valfri konversering. Jag har sett så mycket Sheridan-tv att jag vid ett tillfälle var farligt nära att köpa en jeansjacka med fårskinnskrage. Som tur var ingrep den sista fungerande delen av mitt omdöme innan det läskiga ”Check out” klicket.
När jag såg How to Not Die in Prison: A Survival Guide blev jag därför genuint nyfiken. Ett genreskifte från rancher, oljemiljardärer och cowboyfilosofi till amerikanska högsäkerhetsfängelser? Det lät ändå som en intressant idé. Resultatet är dessvärre mindre ”spännande sidospår” och mer ”svandyk rakt ner i betongen”.
Trots att Sheridan står först på omslaget känns boken egentligen som Tom Nelsons projekt. Nelson, som själv avtjänat ett långt fängelsestraff, går igenom de oskrivna reglerna bakom murarna: när man ska hålla käften, vilket är dina allierade och vilka misstag som kan göra livet betydligt svårare. Allt skrivet i samma självsäkra ton som en kompis på pubben som precis upptäckt en youtubekanal om självförsvar.
Hela upplägget bygger på idén att någon som står inför ett långt fängelsestraff ska sätta sig ner och plöja 250 sidor överlevnadstips innan grinden stängs. Jag kan inte låta bli att känna att om det är din smarta lösning så har väldigt många beslut redan gått fel.
Boken är full av stereotypa föreställningar om fängelselivet och reducerar ofta komplexa miljöer till en samling hårdkokta tumregler. Känslan blir ungefär densamma som att tro att man kan praktisera medicin efter att ha sett samtliga säsonger av House. Visst kan man plocka upp några uttryck och låta övertygande på en fest, men det gör dig inte till expert.
Själva Sheridan känns märkligt frånvarande. Det finns väldigt lite av den berättarkraft, känsla för miljöer och mänskliga konflikter som gjort hans tv-serier så framgångsrika. Snarare känns det som att han lånat ut sitt namn till ett projekt som annars hade haft betydligt svårare att hitta en publik.
Om du är ute efter en välskriven bok, undvik den här som pesten. Om du däremot behöver en present till någon av grabbarna som tillhör de åtta procenten som på fullaste allvar tror att de skulle kunna besegra en grizzlybjörn i närstrid, då har du hittat årets mest träffsäkra gåva.
När jag såg How to Not Die in Prison: A Survival Guide blev jag därför genuint nyfiken. Ett genreskifte från rancher, oljemiljardärer och cowboyfilosofi till amerikanska högsäkerhetsfängelser? Det lät ändå som en intressant idé. Resultatet är dessvärre mindre ”spännande sidospår” och mer ”svandyk rakt ner i betongen”.
Trots att Sheridan står först på omslaget känns boken egentligen som Tom Nelsons projekt. Nelson, som själv avtjänat ett långt fängelsestraff, går igenom de oskrivna reglerna bakom murarna: när man ska hålla käften, vilket är dina allierade och vilka misstag som kan göra livet betydligt svårare. Allt skrivet i samma självsäkra ton som en kompis på pubben som precis upptäckt en youtubekanal om självförsvar.
Hela upplägget bygger på idén att någon som står inför ett långt fängelsestraff ska sätta sig ner och plöja 250 sidor överlevnadstips innan grinden stängs. Jag kan inte låta bli att känna att om det är din smarta lösning så har väldigt många beslut redan gått fel.
Boken är full av stereotypa föreställningar om fängelselivet och reducerar ofta komplexa miljöer till en samling hårdkokta tumregler. Känslan blir ungefär densamma som att tro att man kan praktisera medicin efter att ha sett samtliga säsonger av House. Visst kan man plocka upp några uttryck och låta övertygande på en fest, men det gör dig inte till expert.
Själva Sheridan känns märkligt frånvarande. Det finns väldigt lite av den berättarkraft, känsla för miljöer och mänskliga konflikter som gjort hans tv-serier så framgångsrika. Snarare känns det som att han lånat ut sitt namn till ett projekt som annars hade haft betydligt svårare att hitta en publik.
Om du är ute efter en välskriven bok, undvik den här som pesten. Om du däremot behöver en present till någon av grabbarna som tillhör de åtta procenten som på fullaste allvar tror att de skulle kunna besegra en grizzlybjörn i närstrid, då har du hittat årets mest träffsäkra gåva.
July 28, 2026
Taylor Sheridan, renowned screenwriter, producer and director, met Tom Nelson, an ex-criminal with 17 years of incarceration behind him, at a gym he went to in Los Angeles.
Starting as a teenager in South Carolina, Nelson was in and out of prison for drug-dealing, armed robbery and grand theft auto, among other things. He shared a screenplay he'd written with Sheridan, who was impressed with his writing skills and suggested that he write a survival manual.
The result is this book: a frank, practical, gritty guide complete with recipes you can make in your cell to statistics on prisons and prison life. Highly readable and darkly funny, it will rid you of any fantasy you've imagined or picked up from movies about prison life.
Starting as a teenager in South Carolina, Nelson was in and out of prison for drug-dealing, armed robbery and grand theft auto, among other things. He shared a screenplay he'd written with Sheridan, who was impressed with his writing skills and suggested that he write a survival manual.
The result is this book: a frank, practical, gritty guide complete with recipes you can make in your cell to statistics on prisons and prison life. Highly readable and darkly funny, it will rid you of any fantasy you've imagined or picked up from movies about prison life.
July 2, 2026
While I have no plans of ever going to prison or committing serious crimes, I’ve always wondered what I would do if I found myself in prison. This book answered so many of those more specific questions and gave practical advice in a way that was very digestible and conversational. The level of detail also reinforces that which we all already know (but can always use a reminder of when someone cuts us off on the road), which is that the best strategy is to avoid prison at all costs, because it sounds even worse than I had previously imagined. Very interesting read! Thank you for sharing this niche knowledge with the world.
July 13, 2026
Very Strong 4.75/5!
Only Taylor Sheridan could write a book on life in USA men's maximum security prisons and turn it into a travel style guide! This book is exceptionally brilliant and readable!!!
If you're someone headed to prison or you know someone that is I recommend you buy them this book cuz it may change their life if you're someone who has no intention of ever committing a crime of any nature that you're curious on the human nature within the person's systems this book will become a favorite quickly!
Sheridan proves again and again he truly has a gift for hard hitting entertaining writing!!
Only Taylor Sheridan could write a book on life in USA men's maximum security prisons and turn it into a travel style guide! This book is exceptionally brilliant and readable!!!
If you're someone headed to prison or you know someone that is I recommend you buy them this book cuz it may change their life if you're someone who has no intention of ever committing a crime of any nature that you're curious on the human nature within the person's systems this book will become a favorite quickly!
Sheridan proves again and again he truly has a gift for hard hitting entertaining writing!!
August 20, 2026
Never in my life did I think I’d be reading a prison manual… but here we are! 😂
This was a fascinating and eye-opening journey into the realities of life as a prisoner. I learned so much about a world I knew very little about, and some of the statistics scattered throughout the book were absolutely staggering.
It’s definitely a unique read, and I’m not sure it’s one I would recommend to everyone. But if you’re curious about what life behind bars is actually like - or, like me, you just enjoy learning about something completely outside your normal reading lane - it was certainly interesting!
Definitely one of the more unexpected books to make it onto my reading list! 📚
This was a fascinating and eye-opening journey into the realities of life as a prisoner. I learned so much about a world I knew very little about, and some of the statistics scattered throughout the book were absolutely staggering.
It’s definitely a unique read, and I’m not sure it’s one I would recommend to everyone. But if you’re curious about what life behind bars is actually like - or, like me, you just enjoy learning about something completely outside your normal reading lane - it was certainly interesting!
Definitely one of the more unexpected books to make it onto my reading list! 📚
July 16, 2026
This is a serious tell all of advice on what life is like for a convict. I developed interest after hearing a Podcast interview of Taylor Sheridan. Being a huge fan of Taylor’s impressive shows, I knew this book was a must read. It didn’t disappoint. The creative writing style, real life experiences, and just the brutal honesty of how broken our I department of corrections is. Even if you don’t have plans on going to jail, and I promise you it isn’t at the top of my list either, I still think this quick read is informative and entertaining.
August 7, 2026
I admire Tom for his story of resilience, which forms the basis of this book. It's definitely a "man's" book. In fact, I found two men in my family silently reading it during a family reunion after I had put it down. I bought it because of its ties to Taylor Sheridan, but I don't think Taylor wrote much of it other than the italicized intros at the beginning of each chapter. I admire Taylor for putting his name on this book as a solid for his friend (read the preface). I didn't hate it, but I don't think they wrote it for a middle-aged corporate horse girl. That's my bad, not theirs.
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July 10, 2026#howtonotdieinprison by #taylorsheridan and #tomnelson published in 2026. A survival guide from a former inmate. Almost a companion piece to Sheridan’s #mayorofkingstown features some interesting and terrifying anecdotes. It’s not a scholarly analysis of the prison system but provides practical advice from the perspective of the incarcerated. A quirky/novel idea - like a travel guide to prison. Not somewhere I would want to visit.
July 15, 2026
If you get this book, I would recommend the audible version because the narration is excellent. The book itself was very entertaining and to the point about distinguishing fact from fiction about prisons in the U.S. There was also some interesting commentary about the prison industrial complex and how prisons continue to grow yet funding and resources remain poor which defeats the purpose of rehabilitation.
August 5, 2026
This would have been five stars, but the book sputtered at the end, feeling a little padded out to make the page count. Also, what does it say about publishing that Taylor Sheridan gets the marquee billing rather than giving Tom Nelson top bunk, with maybe an "Introduction by Taylor Sheridan" as a secondary credit? (I think I would have had more respect for the book, if it's wasn't so obviously being marketed as a celebrity vanity project.)
July 2, 2026
When a book tells you what it's about, that's what it's about. My thinking that it being written (in part) by Taylor Sheridan would mean it was anything other than a guidebook for how to prepare for and survive a prison sentence was, well, naive, because that's what this book was. If you're going to -- or anticipate going to - prison, this might be helpful for you. If not? Maybe skip it?
July 16, 2026
The author piqued my curiosity. The engaging former inmate narrator held my interest. Honest, thought provoking tidbits from true life experience, facts and statistics. An eyeopening handbook for those doing time; justice system regulations and informal inmate codes of conduct. Taylor Sheridan, please write a women's prison sequel!
July 16, 2026
Listened to the audiobook. Narration was OK. This book was so bad. It was trying to be so funny but it wasn’t. There was so much generalized basic, nonsense advice given but if you really want to know about prison life, you should read books from people that actually in prison and tell their story from a serious and emotional point of view.
July 20, 2026
Saw this in a NYTimes article on “hot non-fiction everyone will be reading this summer” — was curious about the subject and gave it a try. Generally interesting with some editorial lapses, for example: sections with more anecdotes and no “how to,” a pinochle bullet point under spades, some fuzzy instructions. But I now know how to make a prison tattoo gun from a pen, so there’s that…?
August 16, 2026
Interesting. Based on my experiences of working Federal corrections for over 20 years, I think this book would be helpful for anyone who is going into prison. And for those who are out there committing crimes to read before they are arrested and convicted, in the hope that it will turn their lives around. Pretty well covers the majority of the situations in prison.
July 1, 2026
Really good book on prison system and do and don’t and great narrative authors and actually really funny and entertaining I really recommend this book for people with a interest in prisons and systems or if you work at a prison or if your about to go to prison lol news flash stay out of prison
July 7, 2026
A how to guide for something you hope will never happen. There are times when you might think this is a parody... a prison version of "How to Survive a Horror Movie"... but this is a legitimate look at the experience of being behind bars. Easy to read, but that's about it.
July 11, 2026
Amazing book!
I read this after I saw Taylor on Joe Rogan talking about it, I found it very interesting and even though I never plan to go to prison I’m definitely more prepared if that happened.
I read this after I saw Taylor on Joe Rogan talking about it, I found it very interesting and even though I never plan to go to prison I’m definitely more prepared if that happened.
July 12, 2026
How Not to Die in Prison by Taylor Sheridan is a fun, interesting read—just probably not something you want to pick up if you are actually on your way to prison. If that's the case, definitely skip it.
July 14, 2026
Great, engaging listening. This is an actual “how to” book that everyone should read…it can only benefit you. It’s an easy read, which is perfect. It’s not a book that pretends to be more than it is, so refreshing!
P.S. This could be a series…a women’s prison version seems a natural progression
P.S. This could be a series…a women’s prison version seems a natural progression
July 19, 2026
It's a difficult question to ask, "What was it really like in there?" Because all you're interested in are the salacious and terrifying details you've gleaned from movies or TV, but for them it's representative of one of the worst times of their lives. So, just read this book instead ...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews