By the age of twenty, Kerry Tucker had lived a life few people would wish upon anyone. Her father died, leaving her in the care of an alcoholic mother who couldn’t look after her; she was subjected to a peeping-Tom stalker more than three times her age; had a non-consensual abortion performed on her at the age of fifteen leaving her thinking she’d never be able to have children; an abduction was arranged by her mother, sending her away to work at a restaurant for three months; and she was raped by her employer. By the age of forty, she was in prison, facing a seven year term among some of Melbourne’s most infamous criminals.
Sentenced to more time than some women convicted of manslaughter, Kerry had to leave behind her young daughters and embark on a whole new, unfamiliar, world. Behind bars alongside women including Roberta Williams, Renate Mokbel and Tania Herman, Kerry was determined to make the most of her time at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre by bettering herself, and helping those around her. Many of the women in prison were uneducated, and lacked the know-how needed to navigate prison, release and beyond. Kerry worked with inmates and corrections officers to improve the standard of prison life, and make it a more harmonious environment for everyone. She would help fellow inmates with their correspondence, help them prepare for their parole hearings, challenged the bullying culture, obtained a Master of Arts, and became an ear to anyone who needed one, making her one of the most revered inmates DPFC had ever seen - to the extent that the inmates in her block threw her a fortieth birthday party, complete with two cakes and a gift from each woman. Upon release she has acted as consultant for the television series Wentworth, gone on to obtain a PhD, and has slowly become accustomed to life outside of prison.
Join Kerry Tucker, as presented by Penguin Random House, Boronia Library and Collins Bookseller, as she talks of her life and memoir, The Prisoner.
