The Prison Guard's Daughter: My Journey Through the Ashes of Attica by Deanne Quinn Miller

NEW YORK - Sept. 9, 2021 - PRLog -- Deanne Quinn Miller's book THE PRISON GUARD'S DAUGHTER (Diversion Books; September 7, 2021; $17.99 Paperback Original; ISBN 9781635768046) is the untold story of Attica. Now, on the 50th anniversary of the deadliest prison riot in history, Dee tells how she lost her father, corrections officer William "Billy" Quinn, in the uprising—an event that has defined her life. Only five years old when it happened, she has written a stirring memoir about her painful, lifelong journey to come to grips with her father's murder, and to gain some kind of justice for the survivors and the families of the men who lost their lives.

Her father was killed in the first minutes of the riot, the only prison guard killed at the hands of inmates. But how did he die? Who were the killers? These questions haunted Dee and wreaked havoc on her psyche into adulthood. Finally, when she became a central figure in the Forgotten Victims of Attica, she began to find answers. What she learned began the process of her closure, and that of other victims' families, the former prisoners she met, and all of those who perished on September 13, 1971—the day of the "retaking," when New York State troopers and corrections officers at the Attica Correctional Facility slaughtered 29 rioting prisoners and 10 hostages in a hail of gunfire.

There have been other excellent books on Attica, including Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Anne Thompson. Here is what the Thompson said about THE PRISON GUARD'S DAUGHTER:

"In the wake of the unimaginable trauma caused . . . at Attica 50 years ago, there were the callous many who chose to cover it up, and to deny that it had ever happened, and there were the courageous few who had to endure even more pain to make sure that there was some reckoning with this horrific event, and some measure of justice for its victims. This is the long overdue, and extraordinarily beautiful, story of one of the most courageous of those few, Dee Quinn Miller. Her determination, quite literally, changed history."

Dee took her case to the courts, where she sought restitution for her loss and those of the other Forgotten Victims of Attica. Her efforts lead to a large settlement for the families. The organization continues to push for the unsealing of the remaining thousands of pages of non-public riot records and a New York State apology.

Please contact Diversion Books to discuss the authors' availability for interviews as well as any information or artwork needed for a review or feature article.

https://diversionbooks.com/