“Privilege Lost: How a Nice Jewish Boy Survived Five Years in America’s Darkest Prisons” by Joshua Elyashiv has been released worldwide. This 225-page memoir tells the author’s harrowing personal journey from a studious young Jewish boy to a Marine Corps veteran wrongfully imprisoned, abused, and pushed beyond his limits trying to survive the worst years of his life. After a charge for a crime he didn’t commit, an erroneous prison sentence, and a vicious encounter with the guards, Joshua is thrown into a cycle of stress and violence he never imagined was possible.
Throughout this shocking true story, Elyashiv boldly describes his experiences, from an introverted childhood seeking affection to military school and becoming an accomplished martial artist, through the horrific beatings and hopelessness of prison, and ultimately, his redemptive return to a life of stability. Not only does the author share the tragic details of his own survival, he also offers firsthand insight into the troubling state of the American judicial system. The book exposes corruption and the awful reality of the nation’s most dangerous prisons, showing the ways society continues to punish people well after they’ve paid their debts to society.
A fascinating, visceral ride through darkness and back into the light, Joshua’s story explores the depths of human pain and the limitless capacity for positive change. This heartfelt, poignant memoir is the author’s chance to share his truth with the world, and shed light on the invisible suffering that so many men and women face within the prison system. Simultaneously devastating and inspiring, this memoir tackles difficult topics with candor and shows that with incredible resilience, it’s possible to thrive after the most painful times.
Privilege Lost (ISBN: 9781962987318 / 9781962987042) can be purchased through retailers worldwide, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The hardcover retails for $29.99, the paperback retails for $22.99, and the ebook retails for $2.99. Review copies and interviews are available upon request.
From the back cover:
Many nice young upper-middle class white boys have dreamed about being the ultimate tough guy.
Few have been forced to prove it.
For straight-A student and suburban Jewish boy Joshua Elyashiv, the dream of being tough and invincible, like his heroes Jason Bourne and Bruce Lee to name a few, was so overwhelming that he convinced his parents to put him through military school where he became a decorated martial arts pro. Then, through a fluke chain of events that Joshua never could have predicted, he was arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison for a clerical error. After a brutal confrontation with a violent guard, the sentence was extended to five years, hard time. Worst of all, his father cut off all contact. For five relentless years, Joshua was forced to defend himself against some of the toughest, most ruthless men in the world. Incredibly, he survived – and never gave up the desperate fight to prove to his father that he was innocent. Even more incredibly, along the way, Joshua learned the true meaning of strength – inner and spiritual – and discovered that empathy, compassion, and knowing when to walk away from a conflict is the purest form of strength.
PRIVILEGE LOST is the true first-hand account of an “everyday nice guy” who had to fight for his life among some of the most violent and dangerous men alive, in some of the grimmest cages in the world. This gripping memoir explores the horrific violence he endured, traversing the bridge between adrenaline-pumping life and death moments and those deeply introspective agonies where Joshua came face to face with the reality behind his fantasies. Along the way, he learned that true kindness can come from the most broken souls, and that so much of what we call justice is really just smoke and mirrors to protect those with power and privilege. With humor and pathos, PRIVILEGE LOST looks across economic, cultural, racial, and religious boundaries with wide open eyes, confronting the harsh realities of a criminal justice system in deep need of reform. Like Piper Kerman’s Orange is the New Black, Susanna Kaysen’s Girl Interrupted, and Avi Steinberg’s Running the Books, PRIVILEGE LOST is a deeply personal memoir, with a message of survival and growth that so many can relate to.
About the author:
Joshua Elyashiv is a United States Marine Corps Veteran, former Krav Maga and Jujutsu instructor, Toastmaster, and Sarasota Military Academy Alumni. Joshua is the founder and former owner of Just Get It Done Plumbing, COO of Bonnie’s Plumbing, full-time member of Steeltown Religion Band, and founder of JEEW – the Joshua Elyashiv and Eddie Willer band. Father of a beautiful 3-year-old girl, Joshua is an accomplished musician with published songs and 4 albums on the way, is finishing his BBA from Florida Atlantic University in the fall of 2023, and is headed to law school to become an advocate for prison reform and represent those who have been wrongfully convicted or over-sentenced.
About Manhattan Book Group:
Manhattan Book Group (“MBG”), located on Broadway in New York City, is a registeredtrade name of Mindstir Media LLC. MBG is widely known as a premier hybrid bookpublisher. We have combined the best of traditional publishing with the best of self-publishing to provide authors with the “best of both worlds” in a sense. To learn moreabout MBG, visit https://www.manhattanbookgroup.com/
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