Madam Warden is the insightful memoir of an idealistic innovator who became a prison warden. It carries the reader through Pam Withrow's first-woman roles at Camp Brighton and Jackson Prison and toward her appointment as the first woman to head a male prison in Michigan-the Michigan Dunes Correctional Facility.

The book tells of memorable staff and prisoners, shares stories about colleagues and mentors, and recaps incidents at prisons where Withrow worked during her twenty-five-year career. It covers the joys and challenges of prison administration and offers lessons learned. Finally, it follows her efforts to implement and research cognitive programs for prisoners at the Michigan Reformatory, including a chapter about a prisoner who used his cognitive skills to turn a life sentence into a term of years and earn parole.