The Prison Psychiatrist’s Wife

The Prison Psychiatrist’s Wife is a gripping true story of a Herculean project as Sue Johnson’s husband Bob, recruited to work with notorious offenders at Parkhurst Prison, sets out to discover whether he can change dangerous and violent men.

What begins as a bold and enlightened experiment leads Dr Bob into clashes with prison culture and eventually to the High Court with threats to invoke the Official Secrets Act.

From her unique point of view as an unfettered outsider, the author casts a searingly moving eye onto the workings of our deepest dungeons and the politics that feed them. This book is an unforgettable account from the perspective of the unseen wife.

A rare ‘outsider’ view of prison which casts new light on hidden events. Of wide professional, penal and general interest – a woman’s voice in a strongly male setting.

Reviews

‘A tremendous book. A perspective that needs to be heard’— Oliver James, author, broadcaster and clinical psychologist.

‘A rollercoaster ride of emotion, courage, and political chicanery … I was held by the power of the narrative’— Dave Marteau, former Head of the Prison Drug Addiction Service.

‘I was gripped … a great read I would recommend to Prison Service colleagues’— Tim Newell, former Governor of HMP Grendon.

‘Captivating and most beautifully written’— Jerome Carson, Professor of Psychology, University of Bolton.

‘This is phenomenology… women’s writing like Virginia Woolf’— Professor Emerita Eleanor Godway, Central Connecticut State University.

‘I nearly stood up and clapped’— Andrew Holden, film and TV scriptwriter.

About the author

Sue Johnson lives in central Manchester, delighting in her roof garden, entertaining and is about to celebrate her diamond wedding anniversary. She continues writing, thinking around and researching Social Justice whilst working on her next book.

About the author of the Foreword

Charles Bronson (aka Salvador) has spent decades in maximum security prisons and hospitals and been dubbed Britain’s most ‘feared’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘notorious’ prisoner.