Dawn of a New Adventure (Part 7)

I did 3 talks to schools last year, which led me to believe that the talks would take a long time to build. Now all of a sudden, I’m doing 2 to 3 a week. Teachers are telling other teachers about my talk, and I’m getting inundated with calls and emails. I even had an enquiry from as far away as China. Audience reactions have ranged from girls crying over the jail conditions to boys mobbing me at the end with questions. The teachers are generally inviting me back on the spot. It’s great to see the young people showing so much interest in my story, and how it’s affecting them.

Here's an email I got from a student after a talk: "Thank you so much for coming in to speak to us all today. I found it really interesting. It was a moving, yet extremely powerful story and has made me think twice about my future and staying as far away as possible from all drugs." Matt Northwood (February 2010)

Local newspapers have been reporting on my talks, and one even made a video of me with some of the pupils. Click here to see the video.

I talked to my largest audience this morning, 400 students at Weydon School in Farnham. I stayed behind for an extra 15 minutes answering questions.

Last Friday, I saw a brilliant play in London called Slaves, about prisoners and guards. Written by Rex Obano, an ex-prison employee, the dialogue and accuracy of detail were spot on. The expressions on the actors were so accurate, I actually got flashbacks to prison. It was an extremely high standard of work, and by far the best play I’ve seen since getting released.
If you wish to see Slaves, click here for more info.

Thanks for all of the book-title suggestions! They're under review by my publisher.

Click here for Dawn of a New Adventure (Part 6)

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Shaun P. Attwood