Sign-In
Cart
My Life With P.I.C.S: Post Incarceration Syndrome
Paperback
Publisher: Freeair Books
Published: Oct 1 2026
Pages: 86
Weight: 0.28
Height: 0.18 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Freedom did not arrive as a clean, simple gift. It arrived as another set of decisions...
When Syreta Toson walked out of prison after 14.5 years, she thought stepping through the gates meant she was finally free. But within days, she found herself sleeping on the floor because her body physically rejected the soft mattress she had spent a decade dreaming about.
In My Life With P.I.C.S., Toson delivers an unfiltered, deeply personal, and groundbreaking look into Post-Incarceration Syndrome (PICS)-the unaddressed psychological and physical trauma that follows formerly incarcerated individuals back into the free world.
Written directly from the perspective of a justice-impacted woman rather than an academic, this book exposes the subtle, everyday realities of life after prison:
The Invisible Scars: Why simple acts like grocery shopping, throwing away leftovers, or hearing loud noises trigger hypervigilance and deep distress.
The Body's Memory: How years of structured routine, count times, and substandard medical care rewrite the human nervous system.
Reentry & Systemic Barriers: The emotional toll of housing denials, background check discrimination, and navigating parole while fighting societal stigma.
Rebuilding Broken Bonds: Navigating strained relationships with children, partners, and family members after years of forced separation.
Healing & Mindset Shift: Practical, trauma-informed strategies for conquering imposter syndrome, building resilience, establishing financial literacy, and creating a life of purpose.
Featuring powerful forewords, co-authored perspectives, and raw stories from other survivors, My Life With P.I.C.S. is a essential resource for justice-impacted individuals, families of returning citizens, reentry specialists, counselors, and advocates seeking to understand the true psychological cost of incarceration-and how to overcome it.
Also in
Criminology
Boy with a Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner's Fight for Justice
Trounstine, Jean
Paperback
Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
Giuffre, Virginia Roberts
Hardcover
Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast
Colloff, Pamela
Hardcover
Unreasonable Women: Three Stories of Violence, Imprisonment, and Extraordinary Survival
Van Der Leun, Justine
Hardcover
Face to Face with Whitey Bulger: An FBI Agent's Account of Capturing and Debriefing Boston's Most Notorious Gangster
Ward, Bob
Teahan, Rich
Paperback
Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice (Large Print Edition)
Giuffre, Virginia Roberts
Paperback
The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender's Search for Justice in America
Galvin Almanza, Emily
Hardcover
Searching for Jane Crow: Black Women and Mass Incarceration in America from the Auction Block to the Cell Block
Leflouria, Talitha L.
Hardcover
One in Five: Why Child Sexual Abuse Is Our Biggest Public Health Crisis--And What We Can Do to Stop It
Letourneau, Elizabeth J.
Malone, Luke
Hardcover
Crime Fictions: How Racist Lies Built a System of Mass Wrongful Conviction
Gonzalez Van Cleve, Nicole
Hardcover
The Deserving: What the Lives of the Condemned Reveal about American Justice
Vartkessian, Elizabeth
Hardcover
Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast (Large Print Edition)
Colloff, Pamela
Paperback
How to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention
Washington, John
Paperback
Fumbling Towards Repair: A Workbook for Community Accountability Facilitators
Hassan, Shira
Kaba, Mariame
Paperback
Without Consent: A Landmark Trial and the Decades-Long Struggle to Make Spousal Rape a Crime
Weinman, Sarah
Hardcover
If I Am Coming to Your Town, Something Terrible Has Happened: The Life and Times of a Domestic War Correspondent
Glawe, Justin
Paperback
The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.
Paperback
Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida
King, Gilbert
Hardcover
Don't Fight Back: And 10 Other Myths about Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence
Stone, Meg
Paperback
Making Things Right: Activities that Teach Restorative Justice, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, and Discipline That Restores Includes 32 De
Claassen, Ron
Claassen, Roxanne Harvin
Paperback
Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest
Olsen, Gregg
Paperback
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer
Graysmith, Robert
Paperback
The Best Part of Prison: The Power of Second Chances and Reclaiming Life Out of Darkness
Crosson, Jesse
Paperback
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life, Freedom, and Justice
Hinton, Anthony Ray
Hardin, Lara Love
Paperback
How to Survive a Murder Investigation: A True Story of Death and Danger in the Ozarks
Townsend, Catherine
Hardcover
No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know about Domestic Violence Can Kill Us
Snyder, Rachel Louise
Paperback
Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans
Sampson, Robert J.
Hardcover
The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 2]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.
Paperback
Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope in Angola Prison
Tyler, Gary
Hardcover
A Murderer's Guide to Cleaning: And Other Stories from My Life as a Probation Officer
Baxter, Elizabeth
Hardcover
Bookin' in the Big House: What I Learned Leading a Women's Prison Book Club
Devoto, Pat Cunningham
Paperback
Vida Y Muerte del Cartel de Medellín / Life and Death of the Medellin Cartel
Lehder, Carlos
Paperback
The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.
Paperback
Every Man: Why Violence Against Women Is a Men's Issue, and How You Can Make a Difference
Katz, Jackson
Paperback
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century
Harrington, Joel F.
Paperback
From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America
Hinton, Elizabeth
Paperback
Immigration Detention Inc.: The Big Business of Locking Up Migrants in America
Hiemstra, Nancy
Conlon, Deirdre
Paperback
The Black Hand: The Epic War Between a Brilliant Detective and the Deadliest Secret Society in American History
Talty, Stephan
Paperback
Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis' Fortress Prison
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
Bulletproof--Healing After Gun Violence & Trauma: A Guide for Survivors, Caregivers, and Clinicians
McMahon, Jill
Paperback
Un Himno a la Vida. Mi Historia / A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides
Pelicot, Gisèle
Paperback
Little Book of Conflict Transformation: Clear Articulation of the Guiding Principles by a Pioneer in the Field
Lederach, John
Paperback
Healing the Gun Violence Epidemic: Ending Violence, Rebuilding Communities, and a Trauma Surgeon's Vision for Restoring Hope
Rogers, Selwyn O.
Paperback
Liberty's Prison: The Inmate's Son Who Radically Reformed an American Prison
Graf, Christine
Liberty, Randall
Hardcover
Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison
Soble, Leslie
Busansky, Alex
Yusuf, Aishatu R.
Paperback
The Big Book of Restorative Justice: Four Classic Justice & Peacebuilding Books in One Volume
Pranis, Kay
Zehr, Howard
MacRae, Allan
Paperback
In Guns We Trust: The Unholy Trinity of White Evangelicals, Politics, and Firearms
Kole, William J.
Hardcover
Be Good to Your Body: Getting Back to God's Design in a World of Wellness Trends, Quick Fixes, and Conflicting Health Advice
Dooley, Jordan Lee
Hardcover
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda
Gourevitch, Philip
Paperback
The Anatomy of Motive: The Fbi's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals
Douglas, John E.
Olshaker, Mark
Paperback
The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence
Keel, Terence
Hardcover
Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
McDiarmid, Jessica
Paperback
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia
Eisenberg, Emma Copley
Paperback
Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back
Davis, Joshua Clark
Hardcover
Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail
McFadden, Thomas
Young, Rusty
Paperback
Playing the Victim: How the Powerful Deny and Attack Survivors of Violence, from Domestic Abuse to Genocide
Cheung, Kylie
Paperback
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer
Graysmith, Robert
Paperback
Blood in the Water (Pulitzer Prize Winner): The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Thompson, Heather Ann
Paperback
No Right to Remain Silent: What We've Learned from the Tragedy at Virginia Tech
Roy, Lucinda
Paperback
G-Dog and the Homeboys: Father Greg Boyle and the Gangs of East Los Angeles
Fremon, Celeste
Paperback
Exploring Crime Analysis: Readings on Essential Skills, Fourth Edition
Int'l Assoc of Crime Analysts
Paperback
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
Kantor, Jodi
Twohey, Megan
Paperback
Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate
Prejean, Helen
Paperback
American Murder Houses: A Coast-To-Coast Tour of the Most Notorious Houses of Homicide
Lehto, Steve
Paperback
Broken Windows Behind Bars: Transforming Jail Operations Through Order and Accountability
Klucznik, Shaun
Paperback
Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration
Miller, Reuben Jonathan
Paperback
Deadly Force Encounters, Second Edition: Cops and Citizens Defending Themselves and Others
Christensen, Loren W.
Artwohl, Alexis
Paperback
La Chica de Nadie: Mi Historia de Supervivencia Y Lucha Por La Justicia / Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
Roberts Giuffre, Virginia
Paperback
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do
Eberhardt, Jennifer L.
Paperback