The Prison Doctor: True stories from inside a foreign national prison from the Sunday Times best-selling author

The Prison Doctor #3

by Amanda Brown

From the Sunday Times Bestselling author Dr Amanda Brown


Revisit the wold of The Prison Doctor, as she describes stories of her time spent with foreign national prisoners.



In true Prison Doctor style Dr Amanda Brown tells heartbreaking stories with warmth and compassion of her time spent working with prisoners whose fate of deportation hangs in the balance.


Including moving and memorable stories, such as a Nigerian man who’s dying of cancer and wants to do so with his family around him rather than be deported back to his country where he will die alone, and a Ghanian who is terrified to return home as he knows certain death awaits him there because he’s gay, Dr Amanda describes how in the end she can only do what she does best. And that’s take care of her patients while they’re in prison.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Medical, Medicine, True Crime, Autobiography, Ebooks

233 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 17, 2022

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this because the first book, The Prison Doctor was hype and not very good at all and sadly, this is the same. 3 star, liked it ok, but nothing special, not a bad book, but life is short and there are many books.

So why then am I getting the second book, The Prison Doctor: Women Inside: Stories from my time inside Britain’s biggest women’s prison.? Because there is so little written about women in prison written by women, so I'm interested in what the author has to say.

I hope it is better than this Final Sentence. A bit less of her not-very-interesting private life would be a good start. I do think though that this book, probably all of them would make a good, even fascinating, tv show. The formula of the book - prisoner comes to the surgery, have a chat, reveal a bit about their character and crime, get diagnosis and treatment, on to the next and then reappear sometime later in the book as the stories are ongoing - isn't one that held my attention. The prisoners were obviously interesting to the author but she didn't convey that to me, I didn't care about any of them.

However, I can see that this dramatised would work very well. It is easier to show a character as interesting on a visual medium because the actor as well as the scriptwriter can bring the character to life. Hopefully, what I've said won't apply to The Prison Doctor: Women Inside: Stories from my time inside Britain’s biggest women’s prison. and that will fascinate, educate and entertain me.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I enjoyed this book, I did not like it as much as her previous books.

This book discusses her experiences working in a foreign nationals prison, where the prisoners are soon to be deported.

I wasn't aware of this kind of prison, so I definitely learnt a lot from reading this book. It certainly brought up challenges I wasn't aware of before.

The individual stories were interesting and insightful. However, there wasn't enough of them.

This book felt incredibly short and rushed. There was large chunks which weren't about her experiences of working in the prison but as a GP before her time as a prison doctor, which was disappointing.

It was a shame this book wasn't as good as her previous two. Her stories from inside prison were really interesting usually but maybe because of the type of prison it was, it just didn't make for as an interesting or detailed book.

Still an interesting read but not as good as her previous books unfortunately.

[Catherine Stead · Rating 5 out of 5]

So upset to read of the author's own circumstance around this book. Understandable why this is the final book but so disappointed.

This series holds dear to my heart. Thank you Dr Amanda Brown.

[Lainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 222

Publisher - HQ Stories

Source - bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Revisit the wold of The Prison Doctor, as she describes stories of her time spent with foreign national prisoners.



In true Prison Doctor style Dr Amanda Brown tells heartbreaking stories with warmth and compassion of her time spent working with prisoners whose fate of deportation hangs in the balance.


Including moving and memorable stories, such as a Nigerian man who’s dying of cancer and wants to do so with his family around him rather than be deported back to his country where he will die alone, and a Ghanian who is terrified to return home as he knows certain death awaits him there because he’s gay, Dr Amanda describes how in the end she can only do what she does best. And that’s take care of her patients while they’re in prison.


My Review

I have read the previous two books in this trilogy and followed doctor Brown's storyline of her career working from within a GP and onto prison settings. The stories follow what she has seen, dealt with and the horrific things prisons have seen/done to themselves and had done to them. This book is different, now she is working with prisoners who are up for potentially being deported.

I had expected much of the same as the previous two books but this one has a bit of a hollower feeling - I think that is the word I am looking for. Normally we get lots of different people, cases, emergencies, conditions. I think there are a handful people's stories and some were really sad but I expected more. I just felt like this book hadn't gave me as much both in terms of people featured and their stories.

The writing is fine as it was, I would absolutely read more by her and I am always interested in any kind of healthcare stories. I think in prison and prison stories (true stories) it gives people a chance to see just how tough it can be in terms of management of conditions, mental health, access to care but I didn't really get that from this one. Sure if featured some bit it was flashes.

We also hear a bit more of her career and it was nice to see her reunited with previous colleagues and changes in a place she had previously worked (reshaped for completely different type of individuals).

So whilst I found it interested I felt it had a lot less offered than previous books, 3/5 for me this time.

[eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

i’m a massive fan of these books- it was clear that this was the last one and there were moments where it was clear that the author was distracted. but i did really enjoy the premise - her most conflicting book yet

[Summer Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will always like these sorts of books as I find them interesting, although I did find this one wasn’t quite on par with the others. I think a few more stories could have been told instead of dragging out one.

[Sam Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book from Dr brown. I have loved all her books but this one touched me so much. The stories about the prisoners and the reality they would face going back home was heartbreaking.
I found the story of one prisoner really got to me and touched my heart.
Brilliantly written book again.

[Maisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

well this had no flow at all and was so poor in comparison to her first and second book. There were some interesting stories/people but unfortunately I was mostly bored.

Definitely read her first book, read the second if you loved the first, but give this one a miss.

[Book_Worm_Jim.83 · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I’ve read all three books in the “Prison Doctor” series and I’ve really enjoyed them all.

I’ve worked along side many doctors during my time in the N.H.S from acute medical assessment unit, specialist renal dialysis and transplant unit, to accident and emergency, then to a specialist respiratory unit during the Covid 19 pandemic that shook the world and back to A&E.

Then on days off because I loved my job so much I’d pick up bank shifts on other wards and specialities from Burns & Plastics, Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery, Trauma& Orthopaedic surgery, Urology, Vascular surgery and General surgery, Gastroenterology, Stroke, Frailty/Care of the Elderly, Diabetes Specialties.

I’ve also worked in the medi rooms where people were waiting to go into theatre or returning from theatre.

Like anything in the world there is good and bad. I’ve worked along side Dr’s who were born with a silver spoon up there **** and I’ve worked with doctors who started out as cleaners, healthcare assistants or porters as their first job and have since become doctors and even consultants.

It’s save to safe I’m a fairly good judge of character and it’s my opinion that Dr Amanda Brown is one of the decent doctors that go above and beyond for the patients in her care.

The stories contained within this book are heart reaching, moving and if you don’t have compassion for the people within the pages of those books then there’s clearly some thing wrong with you and you should go see a doctor!!

[하요진 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall: 4.5/5

This book is about a doctor working in a foreign national prison. Sometimes, one simple but serious crime can change one's life. However, not all prisoners are looking forward to going back to their "homeland". Most of them had already built their families, work and relationships in Uk. But they are being sent back to a country they left decades ago. They "technically" lose everything. As a reader, I find it depressing. Reading the whole book, I can't help but sympathize with some prisoners. Yes, they have made some bad decisions, but that doesn't make them bad people. In Usama's case, sending him back to Syria is just plain cruel. Being a doctor carries a lot of burdens, both mentally (in Steven He's voice: eMoTiOnAl dAmaGe) and physically, while still being professional.

That's why I admire doctors a lot.

[Irma Sincera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na jau jautėsi, kad trečiąją knygą autorė išspaudė šiek tiek per prievartą, nes to turinio, kurio pakaktų pilnai knygai šiek tiek pritrūko, bet įdomių skyrių ir detalių iš darbo kalėjime buvo. Apskritai ši knygų serija buvo vykusi ir parodė šiek tiek tos darbo virtuvės, apie kurią nebuvau nieko girdėjusi.

[Chloe Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and easy read. Made me tear up multiple times

[Aimee Watkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 49%, very slow and samey book to her other two. Just didn’t enjoy this, sorry!

[Tracey Hewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

This is another book in this series.
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others.

[Emma AM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ive so far listened to three of Amanda Brown´s books. They are really interesting and she has such a way to not show pity to these prisoners but instead she makes the prisoners feel so human. Humans with flaws. She isnt trying to make us readers feel bad for them since they have done bad things but she shows us that some humans just end up on the wrong side of the law. She describes most of their stories and even brings in her own personal thoughts on how it can feel working in a prison. She shows their good sides and their bad sides and doesnt demonize them for what they have done. The pacing is really good and not too long. I highly recommend.

[Jenny Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a book! I raced through it, having really enjoyed this series. I am fascinated by medicine, the criminal justice system and prison life, so what could be more appropriate. I was moved to tears twice, not just by the prisoners’ situations but the author’s grief too. I’m sorry it’s her last book.

[Lauren Millar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chapters far too long with no real sense to the flow. Very boring read sadly

[Nicola Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book by dr Amanda brown. I'm actually sad this is her final book. I have enjoyed each and every one she has wrote covering all different aspects of being a prison doctor.

[Stephanie Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved all the prison doctor books, especially "women inside". I feel like this one was rushed and I would have liked to have read more personal stories in it about the prisoners.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost DNF’d at only page 19. As someone with an incarcerated partner, I felt deeply offended on behalf of the inmates in this book. The scene where the governor had said they would have lunch at the Rolls Inn. I got the impression the author were too good for food cooked and prepared by inmates.

“The ‘normal rules’ as you say are points of law and the Home Office doesn’t make a habit of breaking the law!”
Never heard a more false statement. The UK’s justice system is as corrupt as they come. Use Encrochat for a prime example of where the law is being broken to uphold the law.

I feel like the author is profiting off telling other peoples stories and misery. At the time, did these inmates consent to being part of this book? Or are they fictional characters and simply made up situations just to make a quick buck?

I did enjoy that the author didn’t represent every single inmate by their crime and sentence.

Chapters were long

[Paige Cripps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this in one sitting - I couldn't put it down. I felt so many emotions reading this - happiness, shock, sadness. I think this is a wonderful third edition to the series written by Dr Brown. I loved the inclusion of the flashbacks to previous jobs and experiences.
This book was written very well and I would recommend this to anyone. It tries to explain the tough times people have in prison for small crimes.
Dr Brown makes you feel sad for people who are normally ridiculed by society, making the reader want to help these individuals.

[Chloë Dowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great, and sadly the final, book in The Prison Doctor series. I have enjoyed them all. This one felt less shocking than the previous ones, partly due to my experience of reading the earlier books and also as the prisoners covered were generally calmer than at the other prisons.
Really sad to hear of Dr Amanda Brown's personal tragedy, but lovely that the book is dedicated to her husband.

[Effy · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄: The prison doctor: the final sentence
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: Dr Amanda Brown
𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓: Paperback
𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄: Medical/prison memoir, autobiography
𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃: 17/03/22
𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑: HQ
𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐒: 240

This was a super quick read which I flew through in a couple of hours in between calls at work - like the first two books, I just couldn’t put it down. Each book has been unique and offered different insights into prison life, and this was another honest and illuminating window into Dr Brown’s work, this time at Huntercombe Prison.

I did find the writing a bit on the choppy side, as the plot switched quickly between Huntercombe and Brown’s work as a community OOH doctor, whereas her previous books flowed easily along the same topic. This didn’t have as much focus as I’d expected on the stories within the prison and felt slightly rushed, but this could have something to do with the topic she covers in her saddening acknowledgements.

‘𝙄 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. 𝙁𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙚, 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚, 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙.’

Despite not loving it as much as the first book, this was still incredibly thought provoking, and made me really stop and think about how lucky I am to have been born in a pretty safe country. It’s so incredibly heartbreaking to read about these men who have fled their war-torn or hateful countries and are being forced to return to somewhere so unsafe. Kofi’s story in particular really stuck with me and it was heartwarming to see Brown’s genuine care and passion for helping these individuals.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just finish wiping my tears.
Was it quite as good as her first two? Probably not. It was much shorter with less follow up on patients/prisoners than I would have liked. But she was only in this role for a year so I’m not sure there’s much that could have been done about that. I am very glad, at least, that one story did get its full ending.
My mind always wonders during this series to what the ‘happily ever after’ ending would be if these were works of fiction. And so rarely is that how the story ends. But I think it’s important to hear these stories and to humanise prisoners and prisons themselves. It’s all too easy to write them off as places full of bad people, but the reality is often so much more complicated than that. And this final instalment was no exception. Stories like these need to be told, and Dr Brown does it with such compassion. I have friends who work in prison healthcare and I think the benefit is they see the person as a patient before a prisoner. Their crime is irrelevant and so they are able to look at these people through a different lens.

I had no idea that foreign National prisons existed and was totally unaware (although not surprised to learn) that so many are then deported to ‘homes’ they never know. Incredibly, through 3 books that could have been very similar, Dr Brown has shone a light on very different prison populations and some of their unique challenges.

[Lucy-Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda Brown is a doctor who has worked in a number of UK prisons. This book tells stories from her time at HMP Huntercombe, a prison which houses foreign nationals, most awaiting deportation.
I am less familiar with this type of prison, so it was interesting to learn more about them & the people they house.

The individual stories were interesting & the characters were very real & you can't help feeling for some of them. Yes, all had committed a crime, but not all are "bad people" - some were positively terrified of being sent "home" (persecution, cost of medications, lack of language as they'd lived in the UK for many years etc) but you can't help feeling for those who are desperate to get home to see their family one last time before they die of a terminal illness hundreds of miles away.

Irrespective of their crime, Dr Brown treats each of them as an individual -she is simply their doctor.


It's quite a short book, likely as a result of the author's personal loss during its production (the book is dedicated to her husband who died recently)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

⚠️ TW: self harm, mental health, homophobia, brief mentions of war ⚠️ This book is so eye opening to a side of heathcare that I knew nothing about and I found it really interesting. This book follows Dr Amanda Brown as she works in Foreign National Prison and all the people she comes into contact with. Yet again Dr Brown gave us an incredibly interesting, emotional and heartbreaking read that I couldn't put down. And it included tales of certain prisoners that truly hit my heart and will stay with me. However I felt this one was a but disjointed because rather than focusing on one part of her career like her previous books, this one switched between her time in the Foreign National Prison and her time as an out of hours doctor and unfortunately this did impact of the flow while reading which is why I dropped it down a star. Overall, I really loved reading this book and highly recommend it.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read the digital format and listened to 'The Final Sentence' audiobook, a part of 'The Prison Doctor' non-fiction series. I found it to be a compelling and insightful look into things we rarely hear about. Despite the sensitive subject matter and the fact that the individuals discussed have committed some wrongs, the book gave me a sense of empathy for them. It made me realize that we shouldn't judge everyone similarly.

One of the things that stood out to me was the excellent narration by Dr. Amanda Brown. It was refreshing to hear her narrate her work, and she did a fantastic job of seamlessly bringing her experiences to life. Her voice was clear and engaging and conveyed the emotions of the stories in a powerful way.

Although this particular series instalment is not my favourite, I still highly recommend it. The writing is excellent, and the narration only adds to the overall experience. It's a thought-provoking listen that will leave you with a lot to think about.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

👩‍⚕️ I really enjoyed Dr Amanda Brown’s first book. If you like Netflix prison documentaries or programmes like Ambulance, you’ll enjoy this!
👩‍⚕️ All of the prisoners she describes are rounded characters with backstories that often make you question how successful the prison system is in our country…
👩‍⚕️ It was a very easy read and I didn’t feel that I needed to have read her others books (which chronologically sit in between this and the debut) to enjoy this.
👩‍⚕️ Lots of really funny moments and characters. I particularly enjoyed the obese gentleman who compared himself to a mountain but just could not stop eating cake! I empathised!!
👎 Not a huge amount of depth in these accounts - with the length of them, I think it’s impossible to go into the level of detail on each patient / prisoner that I’d want!

[Frankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love books like these, find them so interesting.
I enjoyed Dr Brown's first book and even though I feel this one was shorter I liked it just as much.

Definitely felt sorry for I think almost all of the prisoners who after mostly one silly mistake they made, got themselves in prison and now faced not only a prison sentence but deportation back to a country where they were either in danger, had no family or nothing to go back to.

The story of Kofi was absolutely heartbreaking & I really did hope he'd get to go home before it was too late, I probably read the book even quicker because of this too 💙

[Lara Vehar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was all right.. It brings up some valid points and issues they have with this particular prison, like prisoners dying and wanting to go home but they can't and some being deported back into the countries that don't want them or into war. It's also a fairly short read, but it's also a bit all over the place. One chapter happens in that prison and then the next at a completely new work place and completely different case that happened years ago and it really takes you out and you lose the story really fast. Overall an interesting book about a different topic but just a bit too all over the place, I wish that it would stuck to this prison instead and the time she spent in it.