My name is Paul, I have been in and out of the Victorian prison system since 1991. I am a 51 year old proud Aboriginal man.
After my last release in 2021 I decided I had had enough of prison life so I packed up and moved to Far North Queensland. The first year was great, I held a management position with a national tyre company and was living in a nice apartment on the Iconic Watermark on The Strand in Townsville with my long term partner who made the move with me; we were in paradise.
Before long my anger resurfaced and I started back on the slippery slope of addiction and unexplained hatred; although I have never physically hurt my partner I have scared the crap out of her on many occasions. She couldn’t handle my crap anymore and an AVO was served on me, so I was back on the street.
It wasn’t long until I found myself back in prison searching for reasons why I threw away paradise.
The realisation that there was no one to blame but me hit home. For years I have blamed my childhood and other events or people in my life for my behaviour and I guess these events will always play a part in my decision making.
I’ve struggled for a very long time with my anger and lack of respect for the law and not knowing why I have made the bad decisions that have led to a life in prison.
Since reading the December issue of About Time, I have started to read the Bible. I want to say I am not a religious person, but there are so many things I can relate to and I think I am getting to know myself better through reading it. I don’t think I would have picked it up if not for Denis’s letter published in the December 2024 issue; a very big thank you to you my friend you have been a big influence on many people over the years. I look forward to more poetry. Keep up the good work mate.
I now live in hope that I can find peace within myself, and there is a faint light at the end of a very long tunnel.
I guess the moral of my story is changing location is not the answer. Change needs to start with you.
Paul
My name is Paul, I have been in and out of the Victorian prison system since 1991. I am a 51 year old proud Aboriginal man.
After my last release in 2021 I decided I had had enough of prison life so I packed up and moved to Far North Queensland. The first year was great, I held a management position with a national tyre company and was living in a nice apartment on the Iconic Watermark on The Strand in Townsville with my long term partner who made the move with me; we were in paradise.
Before long my anger resurfaced and I started back on the slippery slope of addiction and unexplained hatred; although I have never physically hurt my partner I have scared the crap out of her on many occasions. She couldn’t handle my crap anymore and an AVO was served on me, so I was back on the street.
It wasn’t long until I found myself back in prison searching for reasons why I threw away paradise.
The realisation that there was no one to blame but me hit home. For years I have blamed my childhood and other events or people in my life for my behaviour and I guess these events will always play a part in my decision making.
I’ve struggled for a very long time with my anger and lack of respect for the law and not knowing why I have made the bad decisions that have led to a life in prison.
Since reading the December issue of About Time, I have started to read the Bible. I want to say I am not a religious person, but there are so many things I can relate to and I think I am getting to know myself better through reading it. I don’t think I would have picked it up if not for Denis’s letter published in the December 2024 issue; a very big thank you to you my friend you have been a big influence on many people over the years. I look forward to more poetry. Keep up the good work mate.
I now live in hope that I can find peace within myself, and there is a faint light at the end of a very long tunnel.
I guess the moral of my story is changing location is not the answer. Change needs to start with you.
Paul
