Young Offender - Softcover

Maisey, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1529005477 ISBN 13: 9781529005479

Publisher: Pan Books, 2019

Synopsis

Michael Maisey grew up during the late nineties on the Ivy Bridge Estate in Isleworth, west London. Abandoned by his father and abused by his uncle, scared and wanting to feel as if he belonged, he fell in with a local gang. He started drinking, taking drugs and shoplifting. By the time he was fifteen he was an armed robber. When a poorly planned raid on his local corner shop went wrong, he was sent to the infamous Feltham Young Offenders Institute. Michael's first stint in Feltham left him hardened. Assigned to the Quail Wing, home to the institute's most violent and dangerous offenders, he soon established his place in the system. Over the next five years, Michael became one of London's most wanted armed robbers. In and out of prison, he was accused of drug-dealing, assault and even attempted murder. Totally dependent on drugs and alcohol, he was subjected to a controversial detox programme which ended in a failed suicide attempt. At rock bottom, he began attending AA meetings. But a drug-deal gone wrong left him with an ultimatum - change or die. Could he leave his criminal past behind? Young Offender is a powerful story of redemption by a man who found the strength to turn his life around and - with no qualifications - to become a successful businessman and loving father.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The day he entered the notorious Feltham Young Offenders Institution, Michael Maisey was excited. He was going to be a legend to all his mates. The sixteen-year-old was in for attempted murder. He was innocent of this particular crime but, amongst the violent and dangerous young men on his wing, he was about to learn exactly how far he'd go to survive.
In Young Offender we see what turned a good kid into a wanted criminal. Abused by his uncle and bullied at school, at the age of twelve he found the safety he craved in the ranks of a local gang in west London. He graduated from shoplifting to armed robbery and for five years Michael was in and out of Feltham, on a downward spiral of crime and drug-and-alcohol addiction. At rock bottom, he began attending AA meetings. But the road to recovery would mean changing himself in the deepest possible ways. Could Michael finally learn what it meant to be a good man?
Honest and inspiring, this is a powerful story of redemption. Today Michael is a successful businessman and a loving father who spends time helping others to find their way.

From the Inside Flap

From shy, abused child to one of London's most wanted teenage armed robbers, this is the extraordinary story of one man's fight to leave his criminal past behind.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pan Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1529005477
• ISBN 13: 9781529005479
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320