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The ex-president of France will soon publish a personal account next month titled Notes from a Cell, which recounts his time spent in jail.

The announcement emerged just 11 days after the former president was released while he appeals the court ruling for criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he writes in a preview, indicating the memoir will focus on his musings from isolation instead of a broader observation regarding the strained and struggling jail system in France.

“I forget silence, not present in La Santé, where noise is constant sound,” he states. “The din is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is strengthened in prison.”

Release Hearing: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, Sarkozy had appeared via screen from his cell, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this ordeal bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It affects one on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president in the European Union and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

It is not certain did he manage to review and analyze the three books he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the classic tale, where an innocent man is imprisoned then breaks out to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

He was held in solitary confinement to protect him in a room roughly 100 square feet including private facilities in the Paris jail located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied the next cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay worried that any food might have been spat on. He had facilities to cook for himself yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if he will detail his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing he would be safer outside jail compared to inside. “There were menacing messages, listened to yells at night plus rapid actions next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began in late October when the judiciary gave him five years in prison for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, and another court case is scheduled for early next year.