Incarcerated Self-Help Author | The Prisoner Press

About

Can one individual, especially an incarcerated one, actually do any good or make a difference? In Sam's own words, "Truthfully, I don't know, but as is evident with my books, I'm determined to try and do everything I possibly can to improve the future successes of ex-offenders and the lives of prisoners and provide them all with what they require more than anything that no one else wants them to have, and that is the game plan, tools, and knowledge necessary for them to build successful new lives for themselves in the most unlikely of places and against all odds. That is the reason why I created my book series, The Shit Prisoners Need To Know, to teach prisoners and soon-to-be ex-offenders on parole about all of the important shit that they need to know in order for them to be able to succeed both while they're in prison and most importantly once they've been paroled and have returned back out in the world." 
Sam Ferraro is the owner of The Prisoner Press and incarcerated author of the book series The Shit Prisoners Need To Know. He currently is an inmate at a state correctional institute in Frackville, PA, who is halfway through serving a six-year prison term of his fourth incarceration. With almost a decade altogether spent behind bars and even longer as both a criminal and drug addict living the fast lifestyle in Philadelphia, Sam is by all accounts an expert on all subjects pertaining to the physical, mental, and emotional afflictions of prison and the criminal-minded lifestyle. Sam, in the institution and among his fellow prisoners, is known as what is commonly referred to as a jailhouse lawyer — someone who knows the law well and practices it by representing himself and assisting others with their legal issues.

Sam is most known for his more recent legal accomplishments: his ongoing efforts to reform ACT 84 and winning his legal battle with the Pennsylvania Department of Correction to stop his institution from unlawfully deducting 25% from all prisoners. He has the same unanswered questions that you have for yourself, but, just like Sam, have been avoiding answering your whole life. This is the question Sam sets out to finally answer for himself, diving into the deepest recesses of his own mind in the hopes of discovering the answer not only for himself but for all of those who have long struggled to understand how their own life's trajectory could have gone so incredibly awry.

As an inmate who has served almost an entire decade throughout several different state prisons in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Sam knows all too well from his own personal experiences the struggles, limitations, disconnect, and problems that prisoners face while incarcerated, especially those who are actually trying to do something productive and profitable from the inside. More importantly, he knows the difficulties that ex-offenders on parole face as soon as they are released from prison — most of whom fail at their re-entry and return back to prison because society and parole expect them to do so much despite them having little to nothing to their name.  

For this reason, along with many others, it has been a dream of Sam's to be able to create a platform with the sole mission of helping other prisoners, ex-offenders, and addicts like himself ever since his first incarceration in 2012 at the age of 20 years old. Now, more than a decade later, his dream that had once seemed completely unattainable has finally come true. This dream, which began from little more than an idea written on a piece of paper, has transformed into a reality in the form of a multimedia company called The Prisoner Press. So, why did it take him so long to finally put his dream into motion? In Sam's own words, "I was an idiot. I had always just assumed that it wasn't possible for an inmate to earn money by doing something legitimate from prison. I mean, I never knew of anyone in any of the prisons that I was at doing anything legit on the outside, like running their own business or writing books and getting them published. I made the dumbass mistake of not only listening to the opinions of other inmates that they try to pass off as facts but actually believing them when they all told me that it couldn't be done and how impossible it was to do."

Unfortunately, that self-defeating negative mentality and way of thinking, which is common among so many prisoners, prevented Sam from accomplishing his dream for many years. By doing so, this defeatist mindset prevented him from finding success in prison for a long time. It wasn't until the beginning of 2023, while working on one of his many small "keep busy" projects (which would later become his first published book) that Sam discovered a book that would forever change his future. It was a book that he found in the library called Jailhouse Publishing by Mike Enemigo — a man who was, to Sam's surprise, an incarcerated author and entrepreneur. 

After reading the book from cover to cover several times, something in Sam clicked. With this shift in perspective sparked by Mike Enemigo, Sam's thinking opened up, and all of the entrepreneurial ambition he thought he had to suppress was suddenly unlocked. He had discovered that all the legitimate opportunities available to him — opportunities that he had always assumed were simply not possible in his current situation — were, in fact, actually possible. For example, Sam learned just how possible it really was for incarcerated men and women to write a book, get it published, and earn a real income from selling the book — all while in prison!  

Before reading Jailhouse Publishing, Sam had never heard of Mike Enemigo or his California prison-based company, The Cell Block. Now, having read every one of Mike Enemigo's nonfiction books meant specifically for prisoners, Sam admits, "I have a lot of respect for Mike, not only as a fellow prisoner but as an innovator who pushes the boundaries of what's actually possible for inmates to accomplish and as a jailhouse author whose books are a must-have for everywhere. I only wish I'd known about him and all his books back when I first came upstate in 2012 because that's when I really needed them and could've benefited the most from all the knowledge and game he provides. Looking back, I can see it all pretty clearly now — there was no amount of books, knowledge, game, or anything else that really could've made any real difference in changing the trajectory my life was spiraling down. For real, I was pretty damn determined on fucking my life and my future all the way back then. After all, at 20 years old, I was an angry and stubborn asshole even before coming to prison, so you can just imagine how I was while in prison. I had felt like the world owed me something, and I was absolutely convinced that I knew everything, that everyone else was wrong, and that there was no one in the world — not my parents, friends, or anyone else — who could tell me otherwise."  

After reading all of Mike Enemigo's books, Sam couldn't believe how much they helped him in so many different aspects of his life, especially professionally as a jailhouse entrepreneur, published incarcerated author, and business owner who, like Enemigo, runs everything from his prison cell. Enemigo's books have not only helped Sam but also played a fundamental role in the tremendous success he has had with his own books and business. Enemigo's success with his own company, The Cell Block, as well as all the re-entry and parole books he has published while incarcerated, inspired Sam to not only publish his first book and start his own company, The Prisoner Press, but also not to stop at just writing one book. No, Sam was just getting started.  

"I have, for a long time now, wanted to create a platform that could reach both inmates on the inside of the walls and ex-offenders living on the outside all across the country, which would help educate them about all the things that, as an inmate myself, I would want to know. A lot of the information that I write about simply isn't readily available or accessible to prisoners because there really aren't many relevant or up-to-date resources available for them — and those that are aren't advertised well enough for inmates to even know that they exist, which has always frustrated me and is exactly what I've set out to change with my platform and book series."  

For Sam, and just about all prisoners, one of the hardest parts of being incarcerated is how much they are disconnected and cut off from the outside world. Incarcerated men and women have only limited connections to access the outside world through family and friends. Because of that disconnect, many prisoners have no way of knowing about the books, information, and companies that cater to prisoners, which could significantly improve their lives both while in prison and after they are released. Sam wants to change all that. That's why it was so important to him to create The Prisoner Press, a company that bridges the large gap that exists between inmates and the vital knowledge, resources, and information available on the outside. Too many incarcerated men and women simply do not have access to the wealth of valuable information that could benefit them while they are in prison. The Prisoner Press' mission statement — and Sam's personal pledge to all his followers, readers, and fellow prisoners — is that, first and foremost, helping incarcerated men and women improve their lives and achieve unimaginable heights of success is our most important priority. Secondly, Sam promises, above all else, that he will always provide his readers with prisoner-certified knowledge he or his team has proven to be accurate.  

"I wish that I had books like the ones in my series back when I was doing any of my other previous prison bids because, even with family support and money, it was such a hard struggle for me to find a place that would rent to a felon on parole so that I could get the hell out of the halfway house — that was in many ways worse than prison itself — and get a job, apply for benefits, figure out transportation, get a cellphone, buy clothes, and every other thing that needed to be done all within my first few days! That's why I decided to start writing this series. Not only will it help make my re-entry journey go so much smoother once I am finally released, whether I make parole or have to max out this sentence, but it will help so many other prisoners with their own re-entry regardless of their crime, race, gender, or which state they're in.

I know what you really need in order to have an easy and smooth transition from prison back into society. And because of that, my books aren't just a bunch of names, addresses, and phone numbers, although there are plenty of resources listed. I included real and important information that you will need to know to help you in your quest for success once you're out — things that no other re-entry book or prison counselor or anyone for that matter will bother ever telling you. And that's why my series is rightfully called The Shit Prisoners Need To Know.”

What had simply begun as a side project for Sam has now turned into something much bigger than just another way for him to keep himself busy in prison. It has become a full-time, year-round business venture building his company band, his platforms reach, and his book series dedicated to helping guide prisoners to discover new opportunities and reach unimaginable heights of success as they move through and beyond incarceration and provide ex-offenders with the game plan to overcome a number of different varieties of real-life challenges that they may face while they're on parole.