Secrets from a Prison Cell: A Convict's Eyewitness Accounts of the Dehumanizing Drama of Life Behind Bars

by Tony D. Vick, Michael T. McRay, Richard Rohr (Foreword)

Tony Vick is serving two life sentences for murder. After nearly twenty years in prison, Tony has literally taken to the pen to document firsthand what life is like behind bars. This book--handwritten by Tony and later transcribed by outside friends--indirectly challenges the reader to engage prison reform as one of the most important social issues of this generation, wondering if society can shift its emphasis from retribution to rehabilitation. Tony's new book describes the violent, even horrific, incidents that occur in prison, incidents mostly hidden in the shadows, away from public awareness. It tells you the stories that those invested in incarceration would rather remain secret. As captivating as it is timely, Secrets from a Prison Cell shortens the distance between those outside and inside prison walls. Through personal stories, essays, and poetry, Tony Vick's book pulls back the curtain on a world invisible to most people, dramatically revealing the realities of life in prison and the power of love to fight dehumanization. ""The power of Secrets from a Prison Cell is that it unflinchingly looks the reader directly in the eye, makes no claim of innocence or excuses for crime, and demonstrates that accountability and forgiveness are mutually enforcing, not in contradiction as our current failed system would have us believe. After reading this book, it will be all of us--citizens, leaders, teachers, clergy, lawmakers--who are left naked and morally compromised if we fail to act to transform a soul-crushing system of retribution into a process and means of restoration. Tony Vick has given us the gift of discomfort. May we use it well."" --Jeannie Alexander, Director, No Exceptions Prison Collective ""Prisons reveal the secreted nature of the regime that creates them. Two millennia ago John of Patmos pulled back the veil and exposed Rome's monstrous essence. Seven decades ago, Elie Wiesel's revelations of the concentration camps unmasked the sadistic bloodlust of the Nazi's reign. In this tradition Tony Vick's expose of the prison-industrial complex divulges the concealed character of the American Empire. Like John's and Elie's revelations, Tony's call is neither for despair nor pity. No, here is a summons to action. Read this book and you must join the Resistance."" --Richard C. Goode, Lipscomb University ""2.2 million people are in U.S. prisons and jails, with millions more on probation and parole, but such statistics about our ever-expanding carceral society tend to prove powerless at touching hearts or even minds. Tony Vick's stories and poems have the creative power of word and image to make the prisoner's life-task of correction and rehabilitation a contribution to the urgently needed conversation among and within ourselves about who we are and what we might become as twenty-first-century Americans."" --Bruce T. Morrill, Professor, Vanderbilt Divinity School Tony D. Vick is a Tennessean, currently serving two life sentences for murder in the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Michael T. McRay is a writer, advocate, educator, speaker, and the author of Where the River Bends (2015). He is a former volunteer prison chaplain and close friends with Tony Vick.

Genres: Nonfiction

122 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2018

Reviews

[Sharon]

Most prison activist writing I have read before is written by those outside of prison, not inside. This is a very thoughtful collection of essays and Christian poetry written by a man service two life sentences.

Vick is a very thoughtful writer. He shows the problems with inmate care that are rampant in the United States prison industry today, giving names and faces to those who forgo medical care in order to keep ties with their friends and, essentially, family members within the prison. There is often a trade - humanity or pain medication.
Vick's own growth while in prison is also discussed, his acceptance of his sexuality as a gay man, and the friendships and meaningful connections he has since made with those inside and outside of the prison. He has clearly found peace and purpose in his writing, and gone on to pen several more books of essays about his everyday life and thoughts. I think it is very important to read memoirs and reflections such as this to better understand the perspective of those currently incarcerated and to use their views to gear our allyship on the outside as we strive for prison reform and rehabilitation.

One thing that held me up through the reading of this collection is perhaps telling of my own biases. Although I tried to read with no preconceived notions, I found myself caught on the deaths of both of Vick's unnamed wives. As a queer person myself, I have to wonder how Vick's homosexuality led him to murder these women, rather than divorce or perhaps cheat. What was his mental state that led to not one, but two women killed?
I am absolutely certain Vick has spent years, if not decades, meditating on his actions and he does not owe strangers any insight into his repentance. But the lack of humanization of these two women whose deaths led him down a path of personal acceptance and forgiveness are sadly lacking in this series of reflections.

[Carol Brusegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Vick takes us inside prison to learn about the horrors, the indignities, the community, the attempts at change. In prose and poetry, the reader is drawn in and challenged to re-examine attitudes and beliefs about incarceration and to consider getting involved in ways that will make a difference.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye-opening. Would definitely read again and recommend.