Fighting for My Life

'Brutally honest, dark and disturbing. A book that tells of the reality of drugs and a failing prison system'NEIL SAMWORTH, author of Strangeways: A Prison Officer's Story Fighting for My Life is a follow-up to Billy Moore's bestselling A Prayer Before Dawn about the three years he spent in Klong Prem prison in Thailand, popularly known as the 'Bangkok Hilton'. In this second book, Billy explores those aspects of his childhood that played a role in his downward spiral into addiction, pain, misery and loss.In prison in Thailand, Billy was witness to acts of extreme violence, including sexual assaults. He found purpose through taking part in Muay Thai boxing tournaments in jail. With his fellow elite boxers, he found 'a wall of human community' that helped him to regain his sobriety.He was granted early release by the King of Thailand for having excelled as a Muay Thai boxer in inter-prison tournaments. But back in the UK a decade later, Billy's demons resurfaced and his past caught up with him. Billy has spent almost twenty-two years in various prisons, but since being released, he has not only survived cancer, but also gone on to become a powerful advocate of boxing and anti-knife crime initiatives in the Liverpool area, training young boxers.In this gritty, vividly-told tale of life in and out of prison in two countries, Liverpudlian Billy contrasts his first-hand experience of one of the cruellest prison systems in the world with his experiences in Britain. This book is, in part, a shocking exposé of the inadequate care and lack of humanity in British prisons.But Billy's story is essentially one of rehabilitation, recovery and redemption. Rich in detail, honesty and humour, his book is a fast-paced, unputdownable read which shows how the human spirit can endure, and eventually thrive.