If I Knew Then . . .

Amy Fisher is now in her 30's, twice the age she was when she shot Mary Jo Buttafouco. She's the age Joey was when he was a shady auto-body mechanic preying on the beautiful 16-year-old Fisher. The contrast between their lives is sharp--Amy served seven years, got married, had a child, and became a successful newspaper columnist in her own right. She's made peace with Mary Jo. She works for women's rights and safety in prisons and supports legal aid work. Joey, on the other hand, sleazily sold his story many times and was arrested repeatedly, most recently for insurance fraud, for which he was given a year sentence in prison. Amy is a mediocre writer in a purely technical sense, but she speaks from the heart and wins over the reader. When she was a teenager, she was naive about the media (she got a raw deal on her story) and the law, and it took her years to get adequate legal counsel and reverse the damage done by her first attorney. Her seven years of rape and abuse in prison are not easy to stomach, but she's done important work bringing these issues to light. All is not bleak, because many of her abusers were later tried and convicted of rape, and Amnesty International now monitors the treatment of women in prison. Fisher has a purpose in telling her story--she wants to wake up suburban parents who trust their children unconditionally and turn a blind eye to their running wild. She reveals how she slid down the slipperly slope to start hanging out with the wrong crowd and asks the Moms out there if they are listening. Her story concludes with some clear-headed warning signs for parents. Overall this is a great read that fills in a lot of the backstory that was glossed over in the heyday of the tabloid media. The media has gotten a lot more responsible than it was in the early 90's, and some tabloid programs even apologized to Fisher for the way they exploited her during the craze. The one drawback to the book is the cheap way the photos were reprinted. I wish the publisher had sprung for some nice glossies to accompany this excellent memoir.

Amy Fisher finally has had her turn at bat. In May of 1992, the then-12th grader was convicted of shooting one Mary-Jo Buttafuoco. Buttafuoco's husband Joey had been conducting an affair with Amy during this period. Amy was convicted to a 5-15 year sentence; served time until 1999 and survived some seemingly insurmountable odds. She was raped several times in prison in 1994; fellow cellmates hanged her publicly on television and even her lawyer was cited for sending her inappropriate correspondence. Through it all, Amy stood tall; hung tough and survived hell. Mary-Jo Buttafuoco publicly pardoned Amy, which in turn led to her release from prison. It takes a really big person to do what Mary-Jo did; it speaks volumes of good about her. I actually cheered the day I read and saw the news of Amy's release. During her sentence, Amy matured and did a lot of self-reflection - she realized that as a child, she had been granted more freedom than she was ready to handle. Joey Buttafuoco betrayed her; he led her to believe he would be a loving and stable lover and instead was a statutory rapist with no regard for Amy at all. In the years since 1992, Joey has demonstrated chutzpah and indifference in his interviews together with a complete disregard for his own family. He and Mary-Jo parted company while he received a ludicrously light sentence of only a few months. The hue and cry around this during that period resound to this day. The statutory rapist gets a slap on the wrist and a wagged finger in the face and the young girl suffers a far greater hellish ordeal. Amy's book is serious, gritty and uplifting. Her story is a lesson in forgiveness and not judging someone for a desperate act of poor decision making. A skilled writer, she uses her talents for writing articles, including ones championing the rights of her fellow inmates. At no time has she dodged responsibility for her actions; at no time does she lay blame on anyone else. She even includes a list of suggestions of preventive measures to help people guide children away from making the kind of desperate decisions she made when she was in high school. In recent years, Amy has married and has 2 children, born in 2003 and 2005. She has made a life for herself and has stood tall throughout. She deserved a fair shake and I'm glad to see people were willing to give her that chance she deserved. This is a book about redemption and hope and about the far reaching positive effects of extending a helping hand.

Even though there is already a book released entitled "My Story", this is the first book that Amy Fisher has written about herself. This book covers her life as a child, growing up, the details about Joey, the "shooting", prison, and her life since getting out of prison. First of all, the book is very well written and a fascinating read. When you read the details, you will understand how she got off on the wrong path, but appreciate the fact that Amy takes full responsibility for her actions. The stories about jail and prison are frightening. I recommend giving this book to pre-teen/teen girls to let them know what kind of consequences their actions can have. Even the stories of having to wear the same pair of underwear and no hairbrush for two weeks would scare most girls that I know. The truth is that prison is scarier than that. The book also has advice for parents of pre-teens and teens on how to stay engaged in their children's lives. It was encouraging to find that Amy Fisher turned her life around and has become a productive member of society and a loving wife and mother. It is unfortunate that she had to go through so many tribulations to get there. Some of the highlights of the book were Amy speaking on the "made for television" movies about herself, the photos of her over the years, why and how she did fall for Joey, and what she was thinking on the day of her crime. I also liked hearing about how her life has been since she was released from prison. The only part that I did not like about the book is that I purchased it not realizing that a percentage of the proceeds go to certain charities including one which I do not support - the Million Mom March. I prefer not to support this group by giving them money, but it was a small cost for reading a book that I enjoyed so much.

This was a wonderful book, so very honest, sincere and beautifully written. I lived on Long Island when this went on and it was awful to see what they (the media) did to this 16 year old child. I am so very happy to finally see how well she is doing and what a talented writer she has become...Great Book, thank you Amy Fisher! Geraldine Brown, South Carolina

I was hoping for an interesting read because the story is so unbelieveable, but this went beyond my expectations. I've always been curious about Amy with all the publicity that surrounds her, and I saw her on Good Day Live and CBS This Morning talking about the book and I was so impressed by her. The book is well written, and impossible to put down -- but most important it IS the cautionary tale that the press is touting it to be. Many lessons to be learned and quite a breathtaking read. Excellent job, and I can see why she won that journalism award. I truly believe that anyone who writes a bad review hasn't really read the book or is a Buttafuocco. A very good book.