This second title focuses solely on life in the largest women’s prison in Europe. Holding 527 inmates, it is accurately described by the author as looking like “an ugly leisure centre”. Brown is not the first doctor to write a memoir, as Rachel Clarke’s Dear Life and Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal attest. But where those books feature searing prose, Brown’s style is prosaic. Of her hugely taxing job, she says: “It kept me on my toes.” However, her compassion and commitment shine through. I also find it especially worthwhile and fulfilling working in my current role, at the women’s prison.

This book also gives a really detailed insight into what it's like to work in a prison and the everyday ins and outs of how prisons are run which is really fascinating Success is measured in small doses, first at the young offenders institution where she embarks on this new phase of her life, to working in Wormwood Scrubs and finally, HMP Bronzefield, the women’s prison which replaced the better known, Holloway. I find these books so interesting and insightful. I always learn so much about life in prison from reading these books.

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In this eye-opening, inspirational memoir, Amanda reveals the stories, the patients and the cases that have shaped a career helping those most of us would rather forget. She also had described many relevant topics like Narcississtic controlling relationships, bullying, kleptomania, crime and family life, future of children of prison inmates, mental trauma that prison inmates have to face, and many other important topics pertaining to the life of other prisoners. Kim”, 33, has self-harmed so much that her body is like “a haphazard drawing of the underground map”. Aged nine, she gave evidence against her stepfather about his repeated rapes and assaults. At 21, a heroin addict, her two sons were taken into care.

Just under half of all people entering prison do not have any qualifications at all, so many of them may simply not have the skills to perform meaningful work or be able to provide for themselves or their families” Insights into the world of a Prison Doctor, this time taking us deeper into the walls of Bronzefield, the UK’s biggest women’s prison. So upset to read of the author's own circumstance around this book. Understandable why this is the final book but so disappointed. I have looked after some of the most dangerous criminals in the UK – from rapists to murderers and terrorists – but also lovely people who have simply lost their way.The reason I can't give it higher is that it is a bit repetitive. The whole book is just about Dr Amanda Brown relating stories that have been told to her by the prisoners. I did find it interesting and moving but I would not read it again and so can't make myself give it more than a three. Dr Amanda Brown currently works at HMP Bronzefield and is the author of The Prison Doctor, with her second book due to launch later this year. Her final move was to HMP Bronzefield, the largest female prison in Europe. Brown calls it her “happy place” and, at 65, has no wish to leave. The women have been more open, seem to care more what she thinks and she describes her more regular patients as “almost friends”. “But the biggest difference from the men,” she says, “is how many women prisoners are victims themselves,” says Brown. “They are victims of abuse, violence, rape. Their stories are heart breaking, overwhelming. I get lost for words when I think about them. At Bronzefield, you do learn what they’re in for and it’s usually shoplifting, theft, breach of licence. You do question whether prison is the right place for them – except for the fact that so many tell me it’s a refuge. One of them, who has a violent partner, told me it’s the first time she had felt safe in bed for seven years.” I also feel like she really threw her colleagues under the bus by making it seem as if she was the only one who cared about the inmates and that she was the only member of staff that the inmates appreciated. A lot of the dialogue was poorly written as well, not resembling real speech at all, which makes me think that a lot of the praise given to her by the inmates was exaggerated, although this is obviously just speculation.

Every prisoner that Dr Brown met in those years had a unique story, some of which would cause you to wince. Some were downright traumatic; others had a lugubrious tint. Dr Amanda Brown has treated inmates in the UK’s most infamous prisons – first in young offenders’ institutions, then at the notorious Wormwood Scrubs and finally at Europe’s largest women-only prison in Europe, Bronzefield. This book is so fascinating. I liked reading about the different cases that Dr Brown described. What I didn't realize about this book before reading it is how incredibly heartbreaking it was going to be. I learned that most female prisoners are actually victims of physical and/or sexual abuse, which in turn can lead them to a life of crime involving theft and substance abuse. The remembrances about these women were especially heartbreaking.The plight of these women is truly terrible and the hopelessness comes across. The author mentions the role of chaplains and several prisoners who find faith which helps them to get clean. However, she seems to see this as a crutch that works for some rather than a life transforming solution. Jesus and His power to forgive sins and change lives isn't mentioned. It is a truly eye-opening book about life in prison, however. My heart goes out to all those women who have come from a broken home of abuse and hatred. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions as I learnt how there are actually a lot of positives about prison life. The people there are helped with drug problems and given a job and education. I never had previously thought of prison life like that.