Product Description

Jimmy Holland was born into a family suffering at the hands of their drunk and abusive father. At the age of just two weeks, he was placed into care. The beginning of a life lived in a constantly changing environment of homes, authorities and institutions began. Let down and frequently abused, it wasn't long before Jimmy strayed onto the wrong side of the tracks. Before long, the mould for a problem child was set. He quickly turned from substance abuse to drug use and, in turn, to crime - his only means of an escape. An inevitable lifetime of crime faced him and he soon became associated with the ringleaders of an infamous gang responsible for prison riots and hostage taking. A heartfelt, shocking and despairing insight into life as a state-raised boy, "Lost in Care" is the heart-rending tale of a man who has lost his childhood and also lost his way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #211983 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Jimmy Holland has spent his life being moved between institutions, homes and care. He has been involved in a catalogue of prison hostage-taking sieges and attacks on prison staff and has earned the reputation as one of the most dangerous prisoners in the Scottish penal system. He is currently serving a sentence in prison and is eager to turn his life around. This is his first book. Stephen Richards has written and co-written a wide range of best-selling books which have been serialized in the national press. His TV credits include Panorama, Tonight With Trevor McDonald and numerous crime related, national and international TV documentaries. Currently, the maverick investigative journalist acts as a literary agent for crime writers, as well as writing more true crime books, producing and directing crime documentaries and he also promotes members of the crime underworld on: www.crimebiz.com

Customer Reviews

superb
just gonnae keep this short, am no 1 fur reading books a usually get board efter the first 5 pages an chuk it away but no this book (lost in care), got it oan the thursday an hid finished by the sat/nite, jimmy holland tells it like it is and spot on tae the guy, being fae glesga maself made it awe the more enjoyable as a could relate tae all the places the guy (jimmy holland) wis talkin aboot, a wish jimmy awe the best for the future cause if anybody deserves a break then its got tae be this guy, will be looking oot for future books by him and anybody that hisnae read this book a suggest yie gie it a wee blast, scottish hard bastards by jimmy is out in april 06 and a will definetly be getting that 1 (ROLL ON APRIL). cheers

I`m so annoyed !!!
Lost in Care???? You have got to be kidding !! Why this book is called this i do not know, Jimmy Holland writes this book like some kind of hero, I was so cross reading this book i could`nt put it down, I have not ever written a reveiw before but felt the need, Yes it worked its a book you can`t put down, but the fact is Jimmy H is proud of what he has done and shouts about it, This book should not be read by parents trying to put their kids on the straight and narrow. This book is great it you want to read all about Prison Officers being hurt whilst trying to earn a living, or if you think its `ard` to take heroin. Thought provoking book, certainaly got me mad!!!

Lost opportunity
Lost in Care is a shocking and despairing insight into life as a state-raised boy and how he became one of the most violent men in the prison system (according to some).

It would have been a better book if the publishers had edited it more sensitively and probed Jimmy more deeply. It is important to hear his story and I am impressed by his achievement in trying to record what happened - but it is not enough. Too many open-ends.

The book would be greatly improved if there had been more of a critique on what should have happened to forestall the outcome. Readers with a Health and Social Care background will find themselves thinking about interventions. Could he not have been adopted as a baby? What help were his foster parents receiving for coping with Jimmy's emotional and behaviour difficulties? Why were other people not interviewed about events?

A critical factor in his downfall is that he had no opportunity to develop any social networks because he moved institutions so often. He had no family, no neighbourhood links. The criminals he met in prison were his first stable friendships and an amazing number die - from AIDS, suicide, stabbings. Not surprisingly, he finds it difficult to attach, "Getting love out of me is like pulling teeth."

Despite these sufferings, Jimmy is too violent and not a gifted enough writer for many readers to engage with. But that is not the point of the book. Jimmy says: "I don't want your sympathy vote but I do want an end to this sort of upbringing for those who come after me".

And he is right in that. It is a sad tale that professionals must learn from. It is just a shame that this book fails to teach us more.