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Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

On the Outside

From Lengthy Imprisonment to Lasting Freedom

From the passage of Bill C-10, with its punitive, tough-on-crime provisions, to sensationalist media accounts of dangerous ex-convicts, it is no wonder that Canada is perceived as a country increasingly taking a hard line on crime. In reality, the vast majority of prisoners who serve out their sentences will never see the inside of a prison cell again. On the Outside explores the post-carceral lives of men who have successfully resettled into the community after serving at least a decade in Canada’s penitentiaries. Exploring the transition from imprisonment to the challenges of resettlement, this book will change the way you think about prisoners and open up the discussion on the perils of tough-on-crime legislation.

240 pages | © 2013

Law and Society


Table of Contents

1 Telling Tales: State Talk, Con Talk, and Back Talk

2 Introducing the Men

Part 1: Inside Out

3 Being In: Negotiating Prison

4 Getting Out: Finding a Way to the Street

5 Starting Out: Halfway There

Part 2: Outside In

6 Negotiating "Freedom": Echoes and Reverberations

7 Identity: Fractured and Fragmented Selves

8 Stigma: Negative Expectations and Amazing Reversals

9 Home and Homelessness: Being In and Out of Place

10 Work and Finance: Navigating the New Economy

11 Interactions: Etiquette, Intimacy, and Fitting In

Final Thoughts: Understanding Life outside “the Rabbit Hole”

Epilogue

Appendix: Methodological Considerations

Notes

References

Index

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