Inside Passages

Inside Passages is a gripping and timely novel about the collision of profit, punishment, and the human cost of incarceration. When a single mother takes a job teaching at a newly privatized “super jail” in a small French-Canadian community outside Toronto, she enters a world shaped less by justice than by political agendas and corporate bottom lines. Under the rule of an ultra-conservative provincial government, the prison is run by an American corporation determined to cut costs and maximize profit. Staff is stretched thin, safeguards are replaced with surveillance tech, and rehabilitation takes a back seat to control. Told through six interwoven narratives anchored by the teacher’s experience, Inside Passages pulls back the curtain on the hidden workings of a prison system in crisis. It is a powerful exploration of those who live and work inside its walls—guards, inmates, and outsiders alike—and how they are all diminished by a system built not to heal, but to dehumanize.

Author Biography

Heather’s natural curiosity and passion for authenticity and adventure has led to diverse paths of travel, education, and employment. Prior to publishing her first novel, Safety in Bear Country, and her short story collection, Love and Other Disappointments, she worked as a high school art teacher, a canoe and kayak trip leader, a yoga instructor, at a men’s prison, at a women’s shelter, and at an assortment of restaurants. She currently lives in Barrie, Ontario.