The Journey to Prison: Who Goes and Why

by Celia Lashlie

Celia Lashlie's Journey to Prison was a huge success in 2002. In it, she told the story of the media furore that erupted when she made her now-famous 'there is a blond, angelic-faced five-year-old sitting in a classroom in New Zealand and he is coming to prison . . . On his way, he will probably kill someone.' Not only did this statement bring her to the attention of the public at large, it also lost her her job. In Journey to Prison Celia Lashlie examines the origins issues of crime in New Zealand, the way we punish offenders, the effectiveness of prison (for both men and women), parental responsibility, the role of drugs, where education comes in and the role of state institutions. Underpinning her argument is the need for the community as a whole to take responsibility for the incidence of crime in our society. In this revised edition, Celia adds an extra chapter that examines recent high profile cases such as the Michael Choy murder, developments in the case of the 60-year-old Waitara murder victim, the release of several key female prisoners, and issues surrounding siting of new prisons. A high level of public interest and the topical nature of the work make this a must-read book for 2003.

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Nic Ayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't help but come away from this read feeling disappointed. But perhaps, a book that was written 18 years ago is now just dated. Overall, I found Lashlie's ideas of 'who goes to prison and why' to be simplistic and lacking in evidence or depth. -Essentially, it just felt like there was nothing new to see here. She gave no real attempts to provide solutions for how we can do better other than "we all need to own the problem". I also found her writing to be rather sexist and gender-stereotyped (which irritated me no end). She gives the impression that men's prisons are filled with men who are "just boys yet to grow up" and its the women, who are the ones who can turn things around, to shift the generational poverty and crime - just as soon as they realise that they want a better life for their children and grandchildren. (And meanwhile, men don't...or can't ??!!)

[Davida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed in this book as I felt Celia dwelt too much on her career than rather on the topic at hand.

[K Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Celia Lashlie says seems so stupidly obvious. And yet we're still grappling with these issues and having the same conversations I remember hearing for the first time in the mid 1990s. More people need to be having these conversations, and very loudly, so we actually do something about it. Like Lashlie says, it's bandaid over bandaid over bandaid.

[Dana Scully · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are into Social Justice. Celia Lashlie is your gal, Her books are an insightful look at our Prison system, and How it is not working as it should.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so poorly constructed, SMH! She says she’s not going to talk about her own life in relation to incarceration, then launches into a whole story about her life. She also offers no real solution to the issues she highlights. Wtf the point of this girl …

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll begin with my biggest peeve - as a friend's review said, the biggest problem with this book is that Celia Lashlie says, quite early, 'this is not my biography' but then proceeds to fill most of the book with her experiences in the prisons of New Zealand. That's not great and it not entirely her fault - clearly her editor and publisher didn't pick up on that.

Now, having said that, it's actually a fascinating book with a great deal of food for thought. Though Celia's experiences are in New Zealand I believe most of what she says would be equally applicable in any developed nation, including Australia. She provides a frank and, at times, confronting discussion of the journey to prison as just that - a journey - that is not always as black-and-white as we'd all like to think it is. Definitely worth reading. Four-and-a-half stars!

[Ros · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely powerfully argued book for changes in our prison system by someone who has vast knowledge on why people arrive in prison, what their prospects after leaving prison are and how as a community there can be intervention so that some of the others may be prevented from walking down the same track. The author uses her intelligence, empathy and humour to help us understand this different world.

[Rafe Persson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good