Maximum Insecurity: A Doctor in the Supermax

Having worked in a maximum security prison in Ohio for 8 years as one of the Mental Health crew This book rang very true to experiences of my own. I suspect the author cleaned up the inmate's language considerably. His concise writing style and wry wit made it a pleasure to read. This is an excellent look at life inside the walls.

Contrary to the negative reviews, this book is not a treatise against the mentally ill nor is it repetitive other than to demonstrate the frustration of working for a government bureaucracy. And how inmates with little to do all day behave. Dr. Wright's hammer hits the nail right on its head. I laughed, but also felt Wright's ambivalence about providing adequate medical care while wrestling with minimal budgets, endless bureaucrats, prisoners who have nothing left to lose, and his own efforts to live up to the Hippocratic Oath while treating some of the most evil persons on this earth. In the perfect world these men could be rehabilitated. They would leave prison with new skills and a revamped attitude. Society would be willing to give a second, third, or twenty-third chance to a guy who shot and killed five employees of a fast food establishment for the paltry money left in the registers. Or who killed entire families including women and children in gang disputes. Except reality gets in the way: there's no way a person like this can be taught to have a conscience. The best we can do is to protect society from them and them from each other. Laughing at life is psychologically healthy. I laughed when reading this book. And I learned a lot about prison life and that working for prison administration closely resembles working for a public university. Bureaucracy is the same everywhere. Just reading how supermax prisons operate from someone who has worked inside is worth the price.

Dr. Wright took a very unusual job -- prison doctor at Colorado's Supermax prison -- and then wrote a memoir about it.I'm a sucker for anything in this category, but this book left too many questions open. For example, most of the interactions with prisoners went the same way: prisoner asks for a specific (usually by saying the last prison he was in gave him that drug); doc denies him. That's it? Nobody ever actually had a medical problem that the author successfully cured or managed? Nobody ever said "thanks, doc"?Maybe that's how most inmates are most of the time. But then this book could have been quite a bit shorter.A few stories do not fit that pattern -- a section on hunger strikes, and a morbidly funny scene where Dr. Wright says "ask him if he'd like an injection of morphine" -- but not enough. Over and over again: patient asks for Percocet; Doc says "we're done here."Another bad habit: Dr. Wright makes a point of not knowing (or not regarding) what crimes the inmates are in for; they are people, and he has accepted responsibility for their medical care. But then he usually introduces the inmates with their crime. That's jarring. Is their crime an important part of their identity or not?But even though I found many of the stories repetitive, I have to say this: thanks, Doc. Both for accepting responsibility for a very tough job and also for sharing it in a book.

I received this book from Goodreads in return for an honest review. If you ever wondered what working in a maximum security prison would be like, this book can provide you with a general idea. Dr. Wright began working at a maximum security prison because he was bored with his private practice. I found his descriptions of the prison interesting and enlightening. He provides a good picture of the prisoners who reside within and the reasons they come to see him. However, I found a lot of the discussions about the prisoners to be a bit boring after a while because they all seemed to be the same. I know all prisoners are probably liars and cannot be trusted, and the descriptions within this book only further enforce that idea. One thing I found particular interesting are the many and varied descriptions of the prison and prison life. I knew it but this book only reinforced my belief that I never, ever want to be incarcerated in a prison. The book is short but gives the reader what, I think, the author wanted to convey. One thing that did stand out for me is the fact that moving from private practice to a prison setting, though vastly different, really did not change or eliminate the doctor’s boredom and/or angst with being a medical professional. I guess, after a while, any profession can get to be ho-hum, and this one has for this doctor. However, I applaud him for doing a job many medical professionals would definitely shy away from, but one that nevertheless needs to be done. As I said, if you want a little bit of insight into life within a prison, this book can provide a quick overview. If you are interested in that, as I was, I recommend it. It also can provide a different overview of life as a medical professional.

My daughter actually bought this one for me. She's the medical director in a prison. She said, "This guy gets it!" So, I read it. Some of the stories actually had me laughing out loud. And, some had me amazed at the crazy things that go on behind the steel, stone and razor wire of the prison.The author has a great way with words, and even if you know nothing about this field, and have no interest in it, you'll still enjoy the book! From killers with constipation to piles of bureacracy, he highlights all the ins and outs of the strangest medical office in Colorado.A good, funny but enlightening read. Truly good.

This book certainly gave me a lot of food for thought. I did not appreciate the danger that was always present for all the staff. The care medical staff gave to prisoners was exceptional.The book is well written and sometimes funny.

Extremely witty author writing about a serious subject. Couldn't put it down. Recommended!

I enjoyed this book that make a dark subject lighthearted but a fantastic read if you are interested in the goings on at prisons.

El libro es ligero, de fácil lectura: una recopilación de anécdotas de un médico de prisiones. Sin embargo, trasluce una visión de hombre blanco de clase alta donde, si los presos están ahí, es porque "algo habrán hecho", el trato del administrador (privado) de la cárcel es intachable, los funcionarios de prisiones son rigurosos, y los presos no hacen más que importunarle con sus quejas. Entretenido pero algo tendencioso. Para pasar el rato.

Wright on! Write on, Wright! Wright's life has taken an interesting career twist and in doing so, has furnished him with material for a book. Just think, had he remained an ENT, he probably would have gone to his grave literally bored to death. Good thing life intervened so I could add this book to my Kindle library!

Don't bother. I thought this book would be similar to behind the gates of Gramorah. The doctor in this book comes across as entitled and elitist, with no insight into the system that he works within. I couldn't finish it.

I liked it. First this book gives an idea of the correctional medicine inside those facilities. Second it brings a lot of fun too. Keep up with the good job DOC.

Easy to read and interesting. Would recommend to anyone who is looking for something to fill in a Saturday afternoon

A lighthearted yet serious look into the medical side of Colarado's prison system. Couldn't put this book down. Great reading!