Ellen IJzerman (Prowisorio)’s Reviews > The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Philosophy > Status Update

Helaas... uit

‘Do you think our lives are determined?’
‘I think sometimes God can step in and change things.’
‘Like what?’
‘My lifestyle outside was chaos. My mum says if I hadn’t been arrested, I'd be in the ground by now. She says me going to prison was divine intervention. It saved my life.’

He paces another width. I'm reminded of Nietzsche's imperative to ‘Sit as little as possible; do not believe any idea that was not born in the open air and of free movement.’ I wonder how a man locked in here is able to tell which of his thoughts he should trust.

‘Truth is just a word,’ Leanne says. ‘My lawyer told me to wear a long-sleeve shirt for my trial to hide my tattoos. What difference does that make to whether I’m innocent or guilty if I have tattoos on my arm?’

‘But you know if you're innocent or guilty. The truth is real to you,’ Britney says.

Leanne, scribbling on the magazine, says, ‘The truth is real, but it doesn’t really matter.’

[...] Gurman says. ‘I thought I was actually going to be punished by coming to jail, but I just sit in my cell watching TV all day. This place is just a waste of my time.’

Brendan looks at Gurman. ‘I'll have your telly if you dont like watching it.’

'Fancy you working in the same prison I was in. What’s it like there now?’
‘Quite rowdy at the moment,’ I say.
Frank’s face lights up.
‘People are irritable since the smoking ban,’ I say.
“The what?’
‘They banned smoking in all prisons last year. Even in the yard.’
‘Oh my god.’
'Tobacco is illegal inside. People vape now.'
'They’ve done what? That’s it. I’m never going to prison again now. How dare they.'