I invite you to watch this 6-minute video, and of course, I’d love for you to read my book and encourage others to do the same. We all need to know! 

Hello, and thanks for stopping by! I'm Frank De Palma, and my story is a bit unusual, to say the least -- I spent 43 years behind bars, including 22+ years in solitary confinement. I recently learned that I have the dubious distinction of being the longest living survivor of solitary in Nevada. How I survived it, I will never know. But this much I can say: solitary confinement is torture -- nothing less.

The whys and wherefores of why my life took the course it did is something I’ll never understand. But if all those decades, especially the years in solitary, are to have any meaning, then it would be for me to expose the depravity of life behind bars and in particular, to speak up for the voiceless – 122,000 people -- who are hidden away and suffering inside solitary cells in jails and prisons across the country. This is my purpose.

“…a remarkable story of suffering, but also of resilience… powerful evidence that long-term isolation is torture.”
- Juan E. Mendez, Professor of Human Rights in Residence, Washington College of Law, and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture

Inside, The Valley Sings -- this is the trailer to a short animated video about three solitary survivors, one of whom is me! It is being shown at film festivals around the world, and with a big win at the Tokyo International Film Festival, it is now Oscar-eligible! The world is learning about solitary. Fingers crossed it wins!