Author Description

This memoir set inside the Missouri State Penitentiary reveals an unexpected portrait of the maximum security prison. Author Larry E. Neal worked at MSP as a "square man" — a staff member who is not a guard — during the prison's final 20 years. Neal led prisoner work crews on maintenance jobs throughout the prison, and his stories show that life inside the walls could be surprisingly lighthearted, with prisoners and staff playing pranks on each other and facing down all manner of creepy things together. In sharing how prisoners and staff found fun in their work, Unguarded Moments invites readers into the rhythms of daily life at MSP and reveals the shared humanity of everyone behind the walls.