13. A Danish Prisoner Narrative

In ‘A Danish Prisoner Narrative: The Tension from a Multifaceted Identity During Re-Entry to Society’ (Ch13), Charlotte Mathiassen carries out narrative research with a male offender moving from prison via a halfway house to independent living, after serving a sentence for murder. This is a nuanced narrative that focuses on much more than the offence, and the reader becomes aware that the man at the centre of the study has to deal with multiple and complex issues. On the one hand, he must face the social stigma of imprisonment and his dependence on social workers due to the disruption of home, work and family patterns that otherwise might have provided support; on the other, he has also to work around the problems stemming from an underlying mental health condition. Even small decisions, like whether or not to enrol on an educational course, represent a challenge.