Behind the Number

Writing from inside — daily life, family, food, mental health, and everything in between. Unfiltered, by other humans.

Behind every inmate number, there is a person.

That’s the starting point for a new blog TJ is writing from inside — first-person accounts of what daily life behind the wall actually looks like. Not a debate about whether prisons should exist. Not a complaint. Just an honest window into the day-to-day: the people who probably shouldn’t be there, the people who probably shouldn’t be released, and everything in between.

TJ’s goal is simple — bridge the gap between behind the wall and the free world, one honest post at a time.

  • Who am I???

    Breakfast was a blueberry muffin, biscuit, bran flakes, peanut butter, butter, and milk — half a pint. Hi, my name is TJ, and I’m an…

    : Who am I???
  • Feeling Better!

    Today is Friday, September 11th, 2026. We had sloppy joe, potatoes, bread, and cake for lunch. So I survived the worst part of this flu…

    : Feeling Better!
Person writing in a lined journal using a blue fountain pen at a wooden desk with a cup of tea and a small potted succulent plant