There’s many self-harmers in jail - they are the prison junkies. They don’t even need crack, weed etc, they just get their pills from the pharmacy and they will look like the junkie on heroin on street - mashed up. And how have you adjusted to life outside? It took five parole reviews to get released but I’ve never come out and been so long like this - signing on etc. It took a lot to get released. I was one person before I went in, now I’ve come out I’m much wiser. I’ve still got that same personality that I went in with but I can control myself - anger, emotion, taking other people’s perspectives on issues. Whereas before I was on a care not attitude. Now I’ve got to make my life be worth something. What are your plans for the future? Looking at trying to get The Lie That Made Me turned into a film and working with User Voice who help prisoners survive the system. I’ll be doing mentoring with them and all over, hopefully. What do you hope to be able to pass on as a mentor? I’m going to give kids the realities of road life and show them what
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they’re worth because some of them don’t believe they’re worth anything. I’ll tell them - you’ve got one life and you could go [out] like that [on road] … but then suddenly you’re history. And you might not even have a legacy to leave because you’ve just started your life.
The Lie That Made Me: The Mark Tugwell Story £9.99 Can be purchased directly through the author: mktugwell66@gmail.com
User Voice is a charity whose aim is to improve offender rehabilitation, led by and delivered by ex-offenders.
uservoice.org
www.creativeworks.space/freedesktrial
Blackhorse Road Station (50m)
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