Papillion Henri Cherriere Book
by Henri Cherriere

This book follows a genre of books, I read when I was about 17. They are stories of men and women struggling to remain themselves and to keep their minds strong, while enduring long term personal trauma. These are the books of heroes, in some ways. There are many more, I couldn't begin to list them.

Papillion, was a French pimp, who was convicted of murder and sent to devil's island. a place no man was expected to return from.
Henri escaped twice, being captured the first time, after the fact.
What he endured in that place, how he coped with the pressures and how he functioned in that environment. It is an astonishing story, the movie couldn't quite capture his thinking.
I read it dozens of times.

An absolutely gripping tale of survival against all odds.