Awards

• Commended for National Book Awards (Nonfiction) 2019

Overview

FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE IN GENERAL NONFICTION FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN NONFICTIONSolitary is the unforgettable life story of a man who served more than four decades in solitary confinement--in a 6-foot by 9-foot cell, 23 hours a day, in notorious Angola prison in Louisiana--all for a crime he did not commit. That Albert Woodfox survived was, in itself, a feat of extraordinary endurance against the violence and deprivation he faced daily. That he was able to emerge whole from his odyssey within America's prison and judicial systems is a triumph of the human spirit, and makes his book a clarion call to reform the inhumanity of solitary confinement in the U.S. and around the world. Arrested often as a teenager in New Orleans, inspired behind bars in his early twenties to join the Black Panther Party because of its social commitment and code of living, Albert was serving a 50-year sentence in Angola for armed robbery when on April 17, 1972, a white guard was killed. Albert and another member of the Panthers were accused of the crime and immediately put in solitary confinement by the warden. Without a shred of actual evidence against them, their trial was a sham of justice that gave them life sentences in solitary. Decades passed before Albert gained a lawyer of consequence; even so, sixteen more years and multiple appeals were needed before he was finally released in February 2016. Remarkably self-aware that anger or bitterness would have destroyed him in solitary confinement, sustained by the shared solidarity of two fellow Panthers, Albert turned his anger into activism and resistance. The Angola 3, as they became known, resolved never to be broken by the grinding inhumanity and corruption that effectively held them for decades as political prisoners. He survived to give us Solitary, a chronicle of rare power and humanity that proves the better spirits of our nature can thrive against any odds.

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9780802129086

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Reviews

Praise for Solitary Solitary is an astounding story and makes clear the inhumanity of solitary confinement. How Albert Woodfox maintained his compassion and sense of hope throughout his ordeal is both amazing and inspiring. --Ibram X. Kendi, author of Stamped from the Beginning, winner of the National Book Award Albert Woodfox's extraordinary life story is both an inspiring triumph of the human spirit and a powerful call for the necessity of prison reform. --Van Jones, President of the Dream Corps and Host of CNN's The Van Jones Show Albert Woodfox shares his coming-of-age story with crystal clear-eyed perspective, holding nothing back as he unwraps the unvarnished truth of his life. Deftly weaving the undeniable threads of race, class, and systemic inequities that made his story--and so many similar ones--possible, his journey of resilience, perseverance, growth, and triumph is at once a cautionary tale, a challenge to all we think we know about the justice system, and an inspiring testimony to the power of the human spirit. --Reverend Leah Daughtry, co-author of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics

Praise for Solitary In this devastating, superb memoir, Woodfox reflects on his decades inside the Louisiana prison system . . . The book is a stunning indictment of a judicial system 'not concerned with innocence or justice, ' and a crushing account of the inhumanity of solitary confinement. This breathtaking, brutal, and intelligent book will move and inspire readers. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) A man who spent four decades in solitary confinement for a crime he did not commit tells his shocking story . . . Woodfox explains how he overcame [brutal conditions] despite relentless despair . . . An important story for these times . . . An astonishing true saga of incarceration that would have surely faced rejection if submitted as a novel on the grounds that it could never happen in real life. --Kirkus Reviews Solitary is an astounding story and makes clear the inhumanity of solitary confinement. How Albert Woodfox maintained his compassion and sense of hope throughout his ordeal is both amazing and inspiring. --Ibram X. Kendi, author of Stamped from the Beginning, winner of the National Book Award Sage, profound and deeply humane, Albert Woodfox has authored an American testament. Solitary is not simply an indictment of the cruelties, absurdities and hypocrisies of the criminal justice system, it is a call to conscience for all who have allowed these acts to be done in our name. --Jelani Cobb, author of The Substance of Hope Albert Woodfox's extraordinary life story is both an inspiring triumph of the human spirit and a powerful call for the necessity of prison reform. --Van Jones, President of the Dream Corps and Host of CNN's The Van Jones Show Albert Woodfox shares his coming-of-age story with crystal clear-eyed perspective, holding nothing back as he unwraps the unvarnished truth of his life. Deftly weaving the undeniable threads of race, class, and systemic inequities that made his story--and so many similar ones--possible, his journey of resilience, perseverance, growth, and triumph is at once a cautionary tale, a challenge to all we think we know about the justice system, and an inspiring testimony to the power of the human spirit. --Reverend Leah Daughtry, co-author of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics Solitary is the stunning record of a hero's journey. In it a giant, Albert Woodfox, carries us boldly and without apology through the powerful, incredibly painful yet astonishingly inspiring story of a life lived virtually in chains. He is, as readers will learn, a 'Man of Steel.' Every white person in America must read this book. It should be required reading for every advocate of 'law and order, ' every prosecutor, every warden, every prison guard and every police officer in America. It should be taught in every law school and every political science class. And any 'public servant' currently holding a local, state or federal office who refuses to read it should step down. As a citizen of the United States, this book embarrasses me deeply. And it makes me furious. --Mike Farrell, author of Just Call Me Mike and Of Mule and Man

Praise for Solitary Albert Woodfox's extraordinary life story is both an inspiring triumph of the human spirit and a powerful call for the necessity of prison reform. --Van Jones, President of the Dream Corps and Host of CNN's The Van Jones Show

Author Information

Albert Woodfox was born in 1947 in New Orleans. A committed activist in prison, he remained so after his release, speaking to a wide array of audiences, including the Innocence Project, Harvard, Yale, and other universities, the National Lawyers Guild, as well as at Amnesty International events in London, Paris, Denmark, Sweden, and Belgium. His book Solitary was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and winner of the Stowe Prize and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Book of the Year. It was published in the UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, and Brazil. He passed away in 2022.

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