Cassie ‘Cocaine Cassie’ Sainsbury announces debut book on experience in Colombian jail

Cassandra Sainsbury, widely known as Cocaine Cassie, has revealed she will be releasing a book about her experience in prison. Sainsbury, who served three years in a Colombian jail after she was caught with 5.8 kgs of cocaine, announced the news on social media on Thursday night. “I’ve been keeping a secret from you all … and I’m finally ready to share it,” she wrote on Instagram. “It’s taken me 4 years to write this and to be okay with sharing my experiences in a very dark world. This journey as a way to deal with the traumas and to be at peace with some pretty unimaginable things. “A year ago, I participated in SAS Australia which allowed me to show you a tiny glimpse of who I am and what I went through, and today I’m here to tell you that this book allows you to walk in my shoes as a prisoner in one of the most notorious prisons out there.” The book, titled Cocaine Cassie, will be released in October. A listing on book retailer QBD’s website has revealed insight into the book’s contents. “At the centre of an international media circus, the woman who the world would come to know as ‘Cocaine Cassie’ survived beatings, stabbings and rape while her story played out in public, distorted by lies and exaggerations that played out over years,” a preview of the book reads. “Now, in her own words, Cocaine Cassie sets the record straight in this raw and harrowing account of what it was really like. Bruised, battered and scarred she tells of how she was forced into becoming a drug mule. “It is a story of pain and loss of hope for a future. But it is also a story of her rise to forgiveness and redemption – to creating a life where a woman’s past does not define her future. “I am not ‘Cocaine Cassie’. I am Cassie Sainsbury.” Sainsbury’s Instagram followers have taken to the comments of her video to show their support for the book. “Cannot wait to read this, You’ve come so far and you should be proud of yourself,” one person commented. “You certainly have changed as a person from the inside out. It shows,” another wrote. “Congratulations! Can’t wait,” another added. The 29-year-old from South Australia was arrested at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota days before Easter in 2017. Just 22 at the time, Sainsbury was convicted of smuggling drugs inside 18 boxes of headphones. After serving almost three years at the notorious El Buen Pastor prison Sainsbury was released following the issue of a humanitarian decree during the pandemic, returning to Adelaide in August 2022. About 4000 prisoners were released to at-home detention following the decree. Sainsbury earlier revealed she was attacked in prison while speaking to Fitzy and Wippa last year. “I had a lot of beatings. I got beaten up a lot. I got stabbed. I got two stab marks on my arms where I was stabbed. I went through a lot of things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone ever,” Sainsbury said. “Obviously being the gringa (a Spanish slur meaning a foreign woman) in a Spanish prison, it just brings that attention of you know, rich white girl. Need to I guess bully her down until that’s it.” She also appeared on reality show SAS Australia in 2023 but dropped out after the second episode. news.com.au mental health helplines