Never to Surrender!

“...a remarkable story of suffering, but also of resilience...powerful evidence that long-term isolation is torture.”
—Juan E. Mendez, Professor of Human Rights in Residence, Washington College of Law, and Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture

“...a gut-wrenching tale where solitary confinement is used to torture and destroy what is left in a person who is trying to survive prison—and the people who run it.”
—Karen Gedney, M.D., author of 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor

When eighteen-year-old Frank De Palma tried to avenge the senseless killing of his beloved dog, he landed in the courtroom of a hang ’em high judge. Though no one had died or even been injured by his action, he was sentenced to ten years in the Nevada State Prison, with a release in two years for good behavior.

Determined to do his time and go home, he quickly learned it wasn’t that simple and was thrust into “kill or be killed” situations that ultimately tacked four decades onto his sentence. During this time, he was placed in a solitary confinement cell, where it would be twenty-two years and thirty-six days before he would again see the light of day.

Never to Surrender! 22 Years in Solitary: The Battle for My Soul in a U.S. Prison is an astounding story of justice run amok, of the casual corruption and depravity inside prison walls, but mostly, it is the story of one man’s fierce determination to survive it.

Frank De Palma was incarcerated for forty-three years in the Nevada prison system, for an initial nonviolent charge. During this time, he was held in solitary confinement at Ely State Prison for twenty--two years and thirty-six days. Since his release in 2018, he has advocated for the abolition of solitary confinement and for humane treatment of prisoners. In March 2021, he testified before the Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee about his experience in solitary. He has been featured in numerous articles, including "The Marshall Project" "Solitary Watch", and has appeared in short films about solitary confinement produced by Al Jazeera and is featured in the Irish film production company, Wonderbread's production of "Inside the Valley Sings." Frank lives in Reno, Nevada, with his little cat, Fatty.

Mary Buser is an award-winning author of Lockdown on Rikers: Shocking Stories of Abuse and Injustice at New York's Notorious Jail, based on her work in the Rikers Island mental health department. An advocate for criminal justice reform, she is Codirector of Social Workers & Allies against Solitary Confinement, and has written numerous articles, appearing in The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Politico, and New York Daily News. Mary is the co-founder of Samaritans of New York suicide prevention hotline. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.