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Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison Paperback – August 31, 2007

by T. J. Parsell (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 694 ratings
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When seventeen-year-old T. J. Parsell held up the local Photo Mat with a toy gun, he was sentenced to four and a half to fifteen years in prison. The first night of his term, four older inmates drugged Parsell and took turns raping him. When they were through, they flipped a coin to decide who would "own" him. Forced to remain silent about his rape by a convict code among inmates (one in which informers are murdered), Parsell's experience that first night haunted him throughout the rest of his sentence. In an effort to silence the guilt and pain of its victims, the issue of prisoner rape is a story that has not been told. For the first time Parsell, one of America's leading spokespeople for prison reform, shares the story of his coming of age behind bars. He gives voice to countless others who have been exposed to an incarceration system that turns a blind eye to the abuse of the prisoners in its charge. Since life behind bars is so often exploited by television and movie re-enactments, the real story has yet to be told. Fish is the first breakout story to do that.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    August 31, 2007
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.85 x 8.25 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    9780786720378
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0786720378
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

T.J. Parsell is a writer and human rights activist dedicated to ending sexual abuse against men, women, and children in all forms of detention. He is currently President-elect of Stop Prisoner Rape and serves as a consultant to the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. Parsell has testified before numerous government bodies and was instrumental in passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, the first ever federal legislation to address this issue. He lives in Sag Harbor, NY. Visit his web site at www.TJParsell.com

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0786720379
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Press; 34516th edition (August 31, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780786720378
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786720378
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.85 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 694 ratings

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T. J. Parsell

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
694 global ratings
The book “Fish”
5 Stars
The book “Fish”
How I came about this book was tiktok of the author speaking about his personal experience during his time in prison in which I became intrigued by his story. This book is such a great read and sheds light to what others have endured while serving time. Even what still happens till this very day. He has great courage to tell his story despite all that he had been through. It is a must read.
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Top reviews from the United States

The Admiral
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and thought provoking. A wonderful book.
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2011
Verified Purchase
After reading another autobiography about prison life, I was intrigued and wanted to read another. I saw many references to this book and thought I'd give it a try. I also saw several others advertised and downloaded them as well. I'm sorry to say that I read the other books first.

Fish does what all the others failed to do. Fish has a sense of honesty and truth that is hard to find in material of this subject. Far too many authors feel the need to embellish their stories in an attempt to lure more readers. Sadly, their efforts are generally wasted because nothing is more exciting and riveting than truth.

Fish seems to touch on all aspects of prison life. From the violence to the peace. From the day to the night. From the right to the wrong. There is nothing that is told thru the author's pen.

I've seen reviews that emphasize the sexual encounters in Fish. Sex is a fact of prison life and therefore has a place in this book, but the descriptions are not overdone nor are they in any way extreme or graphic. The author does not discuss sex simply to have sex be part of the story, rather it is only brought up when it is integral to the story itself. If you are looking for a book to give you some erotic pleasure or fantasy of prison sex, this is not your book.

The life of the author and how he learned from his mistakes is what makes this book so great. From the despair he felt in his abandonment to the joy of living a life without fear of being true to himself. This book provides enlightenment and strength to those that may be going thru similar situations. Not necessarily in a prison or jail type setting, but for anybody who feels trapped and confined by life.

The only thing I would have liked to see more of are the follow up stories. Is Paul still a part of his life? Has he had contact with others he has helped? I also would like to have seen some photos. Surly the author could include a photo of himself or the prisons. I understand that pictures of the other people may not be appropriate, but pictures to set the scenery would go a long way.
2 people found this helpful
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myrna chaplin
5.0 out of 5 stars I deeply admire his talent, courage, and insight
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2016
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The Story:

In what would turn out to be a horrible mistake with tragic consequences, seventeen-year-old Tim Parsell holds up a photo store with a toy gun. The stunt had been a gag but the girl behind the counter thinks the gun is real and hands a small sum of cash over to Tim who takes it and walks away home. Tim is arrested and booked for armed robbery. He is convicted and sentenced to up to 15 years in the Michigan prison system. It doesn’t matter that the gun was a toy, the employee thought it was real and believed she was in mortal danger so the charge of “armed robbery” stands.

According to Michigan law Tim is an adult at 17.

Tim is sent to an adult close-security prison (akin to maximum security with extended time outside of their cells). He enters an alternate society behind locked cells, prison gates, and under the watch of armed guards. While the criminal justice system looms in the background, a large amorphous machine that is inconceivably powerful and fundamentally unjust, Parsell’s memoir centers on the lives and dynamics of the prisoners and life inside the prison. It is a terrifying world of hierarchy, inmate code and deception. New prisoners are known as fish and like other fish Tim entered prison life with little knowledge of the rules and how to survive. Something as innocent as accepting a cigarette from an inmate may be entrapment.

On Tim’s first day in the general prison population, he is drawn into a deceitful plot by a group of men pretending to befriend him. He senses something is off in the way the ringleader speaks to him (in a sort of cunning charm and long, suggestive glances). The men offer Tim ‘spud juice’ (home made prison liquor), and he joins them in drinking. What Tim doesn’t know is that the drink is spiked with Thorazine, a heavy tranquillizer. The drug takes effect and Tim is brutally gang raped, unable to so much as call for help. The drug is paralyzing. Once the sexual assault ends, the perpetrators flip a coin to determine who will own Tim. There after he is the property of the coin toss winner, a man known as Slide Step.

Despite the conditional relationship between Tim and Slide Step, the two men share an intimate bond. In exchange for sexual relations Slide Step –an inmate with high respect and status amongst the other prisoners-- protects Tim. The two develop a closeness and intimacy that would be hard to understand outside of the context of trauma and the terror of prison.
Review:

Parsell’s honest account of incarceration in the Michigan prison system centers on sexual violence, exploitation, prison hierarchy, and inmate code. Reading the book kept me emotionally engaged and often terrified for Tim. As I continued to read I didn’t know how he could possibly survive his remaining sentence. Even when his term was nearly over and he had only a year to go, I wondered how he would make it. The tension never let up. I was fearful that injustice would strike again and he would not be released. I was deeply saddened when Tim was transferred to a new facility and without the protection of Slide Step, he was gang raped a second time, more violently than the first. It was even more heartbreaking when word of Tim’s sexual assault spread through the prison and he was targeted further and subject to ongoing harassment.

Throughout the story my thoughts returned to the fact that Tim was a seventeen year old boy who was raped and forced into sexual slavery for robbing a photomat with a toy gun.

After reading the book I found out that Tim (T.J. Parsell) is a human rights activist and has spent several decades working to change the conditions for prisoners and to end prison rape. In his prisoner advocacy work, Parsell often states that he feels he deserved to be punished for his crime, but did not deserve to be brutally raped and exploited. It is admirable that he acknowledges the traumatic impact the robbery must have had on the sales woman. I agree with him. However, I couldn’t help but think of the things myself had done as a teenager and the trouble that friends of mine had gotten into. Teenagers do stupid things sometimes. Tim got caught and injustice repeatedly intervened in his young life. I agree with a need for contrition for a stupid, hurtful act – but how can justice be reached in the context of a system that subjects teenagers (and sometimes children) to torture?

Paresell continues to work towards changing the prison system and protecting prisoners from sexual violence. He bravely uses his own story to shine a light on the broken prison system and give voice to the many victims of prison rape. In his book Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man’s Prison, Parsell gives an empowered voice and dignity to the many prisoners who have suffered rape and exploitation. He has also demonstrated the courage to forge a path for all of us who have experienced trauma and the re-traumatizing effects of societal shame and stigmatization. I deeply admire his talent, courage, and insight.
22 people found this helpful
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James Henderson
4.0 out of 5 stars A Personal Memoir
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2008
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This book is beautifully written, despite the raw and brutal scenes it depicts. Its' well-organized structure reads like a novel and there is an abundance of dialogue, presumably based on the author's memory of the events which occurred more than twenty-five years ago. The brutal nature of the prison system is realistically described with every page steeped in the personal feelings of the author tempered by time. Most poignant in the memoir, in my reading, was the depiction of the true first love that the author, who comes to realize he is gay, experiences with a boy of his own age, while still in prison. Eventually the lovers are separated as the writer is released from prison and the lover, Paul, remains in jail for years to come. After twenty-five years Tim, the author, writes to Paul, telling him how much he loved Paul and what an enormous impact he had had on Tim's developement while they were lovers. Paul responds with sentiments of his own reflecting how important their relationship had meant to him. These two letters together were one of the highlights of the book for me. They expressed tenderness, gratefulness, and love of one another, while recognizing that the past is gone and they have each moved on in their lives. The memoir as a whole was a great read and a touching personal story.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and heartbreaking
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2024
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I don't remember who suggested this book but wow! The author was raw, real and brutally honest and I'm still crying. It's a sad story that I can only hope is changing the world.
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Top reviews from other countries

Fernando A. A. Silva
5.0 out of 5 stars Crude experiences of a teenager in a men's prison.
Reviewed in Brazil on December 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
The book is excellent. It is very well written and the author portrays the harrowing experiences of a youth being jailed with older prisoners. Rape, gang rape, sodomy, drugs, violence told in a straightforward manner. He becomes one of them to survive. The end is sort of an anticlimax when he seems to have lost the thread trying to show how he had survived and how now he was different from the others and had done good. I enjoyed the book.
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hello_cr
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is worth it
Reviewed in Canada on February 8, 2021
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I ordered the book and it came in 3 days later the shipping was fast if you're a prime member :) I read the book and I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended!
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Ralph
5.0 out of 5 stars Fish - A must for anyone to read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2014
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T.J. Parsell's true story just grips you from start to finish. This book will teach you far more than any academic social science paper. If you have a chance of reading this book grab it with both hands and dont let go until you reach the final full stop in the book.
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Alnoor
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on November 14, 2013
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His words paint a very vived picture of a world many will never understand. You feel what he felt and share his experiences. A very brave individual.
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googie Gomez
5.0 out of 5 stars kudos
Reviewed in Canada on September 2, 2013
Verified Purchase
Excellent insight to growing up and dealing with more than the average Joe could ever imagine.
If i knew you TJ I'd be beside myself in pride.
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