Publisher's Synopsis
Being a creative individual doesn't mean you are incapable of atrocities and hurting other people. The perfect example of this statement is Jack Henry Abbott, an inmate, and a criminal who spent the majority of his life behind the bars. Unable to find peace with the outcome of his life, he found a new love while being locked up - literature. He was never a great student, but Abbott clearly had a talent for writing. It helped him become friends with one of the greatest writers of his generation - Norman Mailer. Thrilled and excited by Abbott's writing skills, Mailer supported Abbott's parole and helped him publish his first book named In the Belly of the Beast. Abbott wrote about his early life and the events which led him to the federal prison. He blamed both the society and the system for the fact that he was locked up. Hoping that he would turn his life around after the parole, Mailer was very excited to see his friend out of the jail in 1981. But it seemed like rehabilitation was near impossible for the criminal who only knew how to survive in tough conditions. Only six weeks after his release, Abbott killed an innocent man, and he was on the fast lane to prison once again.
