Giveaway & Tour: "Sweet Hell on Fire" By: Sara Lunsford

Sweet Hell on Fire

By: Sara Lunsford

Synopsis from Goodreads

As a corrections officer at an all-male maximum security prison, Sara Lunsford worked with the worst of the worst, from serial killers to white supremacists. She knew that at the end of every day, she had to try and shed the memories of the horrors she had witnessed in order to live a happy existence. But the darkness invaded every part of her life. And dealing with a stressful divorce and a mother sucumbing to cancer led her to a complete immersion in her work and eventually the bottom of a liquor bottle. Sweet Hell on Fire takes the reader on a journey with the author, from hitting rock bottom to becoming a woman who understands the meaning of sacrifice, the joy of redemption and the quiet haven to be found in hope.

Imagine if every day—after you woke up, got dressed, and ate breakfast—you had to manage 2,000 of the country’s worst criminals? Could you do it? And, if you could, what would it do to you?

For over a year, Sara Lunsford was corrections officer in an all-male, maximum security prison. Most officers try to forget what they’ve seen behind the prison walls – so we never hear their stories. But Sara’s memoir, Sweet Hell on Fire: A Memoir of the Prison I Worked in and the Prison I Lived In, takes us inside the gate, with an uncensored look at the transformative effects of a year on The Job.

About the Author

Saranna De Wylde has always been fascinated by things better left in the dark. She wrote her first story after watching The Exorcist at a slumber party. Since then, she’s published horror, romance and narrative nonfiction. Like all writers, Saranna has held a variety of jobs, from operations supervisor for an airline, to an assistant for a call girl, to a corrections officer. But like Hemingway said, “Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure, only death can stop it.” So she traded in her cuffs for a full-time keyboard. She loves to hear from her readers.

My Thoughts

     I was instantly intrigued with Sweet Hell on Fire from the moment I read the synopsis. This past Autumn I read Orange is the New Black and since it deals with the same environment, I knew Sara Lunsford's tale would intrigue me. Instead of dealing with the prison issue from the prisoner's point of view, we see it through the guards eyes. Interesting and fast paced, Sweet Hell on Fire is definitely one of those rare books that opens our minds to something a little different.
     Sara's story is something very few of us will ever experience. Being a corrections officer in a men's maximum security prison is dangerous for anyone, but even made more so by being a female. Sara not only worked there, she worked there for quite a while and through this book tells her stories. An intermingling of personal and professional stories, the book is broken up and tell brief glimpses of different events during her time as a guard. 
     I enjoyed this brief glimpse into the world of guards vs. inmates. I felt the story was intimate and the characters extremely realistic. This was the author's first foray into nonfiction (she normally writes romance under the name Saranna Dewylde) and at times I could see influences of a fiction writer, but all in all an extremely satisfying story. The struggles and the triumphs are so motivating, made even more so by Sara working in this male dominated field. I just wanted to do a fist bump every so often and yell "You go girl!"

Book Details

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Date of Publication: November 1, 2012

# of Pages: 288

ISBN: 978-1402270765

Where can you find Sara?

Author Website

Blog - Writers Gone Wild

Goodreads - Sara Lunsford

Goodreads - Saranna Dewylde

Facebook

Twitter

Giveaway

Sourcebooks has generously offered to giveaway a paperback copy of Sweet Hell on Fire to a lucky reader. Just leave a comment with your e-mail and you can win!