On February 16, 2007 I was released from a federal prison camp in Lexington, KY after serving a 27-month sentence for my first ever conviction ("wire and mail fraud" related to a business I once owned). Five years later, my book, "Sister America Goes To Prison: A Memoir" will officially be released for sale at Amazon and at large.
Many people ask "Where did you come up with the name Sister America for this book? The answer is that a co-worker once dubbed me "Sister America", saying that I had the appearance of the all-American girl-next-door. At one time he referred to me as looking like a "freshly-scrubbed dairy farmer's daughter", but "Sister America" was shorter, so that became my nickname.
The book does not focus on the pitfalls of business which can put virtually anyone with entrepreneurial aspirations on the road to prison, as that is a topic for another book. Instead, I focus on some issues which only those who have traveled the road of what America currently calls justice can speak with authority.
If the reader takes away anything from reading this account of my experiences during two years in custody, I hope it is that there is a staggering amount of damage done to any individual who is locked up for ANY length of time, and that physical confinement should only be considered as a last resort rather than a run-of-the-mill punishment for non-violent offenders.
Nonetheless, this memoir isn't about me claiming to be a victim of the justice system as much as it is about the victimization of the American taxpayer who must foot the bill of not only the incarcerated person unable to support themselves while in jail or prison, but also their dependents for whom the taxpayer is then required to support in the form of food stamps, foster care, health care, and welfare payments.
Those who religiously support what they think is a just system often respond with the attitude that somehow the only alternative to incarceration is a permissive society which does not punish crimes at all. On the contrary, there are alternatives.
Halfway houses require inmates to hold full-time jobs and pay for the expenses of their own incarceration, including health care. The inhabitants of halfway houses, in doing so, remain (or sometimes become for the first time) functional, tax-paying citizens in the real world.
There is no need for re-adjustment to the outside world when the sentence is completed, because the inmate is already in said "outside world". They already have jobs, they are in a good position to find housing and transportation if necessary, and life can go on for them.
As the reader will discover from this book, after only two years of confinement, I found myself unable to even board the bus to go "home" once I was released. It took more than eight hours for me to gather my wits enough to even do that. (Actually, I had no "home" to go to by then, which was probably part of the problem, but one is required to return to the district where the charge originated when there is a period of supervision once released, which was, in my case, three years.)
To this day, though I manage to maintain the appearance of functionality to most people I encounter, I struggle with things unimaginable to the average person. The obvious mental and emotional struggles are there, but there are also physical problems which were created and/or exacerbated by the lack of access to basic health needs while incarcerated.
The myth is that "free medical care" provided in jails and prisons in America is adequate enough to keep one healthy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that, in most cases, only what is necessary to keep someone alive is done for the average inmate.
Lest you get the impression that this is just another complaining, whiny book written by a bitter ex-con, let me tell you that I have a lot of amusing stories to share with you which are also included in this memoir.
One of the most amazing things I encountered while "locked up" was the ability of human beings to adapt to their environment in astonishingly creative and innovative ways. Simple items that in the outside world are taken for granted become incredibly versatile tools "behind the wall" of a jail or prison... sanitary pads become cleaning wipes, a source for cotton to block out noise while trying to sleep, blindfolds to block lights which are on 24 hours a day in most jail cells, and a variety of other things as necessity inspires yet more clever inventions for them.
Stereotypes abound, especially about who is in America's jails and prisons. Few people realize the diversity which exists among the incarcerated in the United States.
In this book, you'll read about a grandmother in her 70's who is addicted to crack and is a repeat "guest" in a county jail in Maryville, TN. She takes it in stride, and glibly recounts an incident which she refers to as "that time that crack pipe fell out of my pussy".
You'll also read about a 72-year old nun from the East Tennessee area who was sent to the same federal prison as me for protesting the war on federal property. One of her greatest amusements seemed to be how other inmates feared her, rather than the other way around.
The experiences and people which I encountered in my relatively short stay in the penal system are so varied that it is almost easy to forget that the world I found myself in at the time was so small. However, once released back into the big, wide world, I realized just how small my world had actually been "behind the wall". As I struggled to re-enter "society" and a world which seemed more overwhelming than ever, ironically, it was that looming, unbearable feeling of being overwhelmed that I experienced once again which had originally prevented me from carrying out responsibilities that landed me in prison to begin with. Clearly, serving a two-year prison sentence did not do anything to eliminate the cause of my dysfunction.
There are things you may find difficult to read about, and yet I am certain that there are many more things which will bring a belly laugh to the reader. This book is full of commentary of the political, intellectual, and humorous varieties as it should be, since that is the stuff life is made of regardless of where it is lived.
I hope you enjoy the ride, and more importantly, I hope it opens your eyes to the reality we face as a country with more people imprisoned per capita than any other country in the world, despite the fact that we claim a superior code of ethics with regard to human rights issues.
