Roses and Rikers. (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798856871141)

She had the world at her fingertips, and all of her hard work was about to set her up for a lifetime of success. She was one semester shy of completing her undergraduate degree in pre-medicine, she had just finished her fourth season of women's NCAA college volleyball, and she had secured a high school chemistry teaching job with the New York City Fellows that would start upon her graduation in May, 2008. Life seemed promising for Cindy at the beginning of her senior year, however, one daunting event was about to negatively change her life forever.
On January 24, 2008, after working a private poker party as a cocktail waitress and having several alcoholic drinks while working, Cindy made a detrimental choice; one that she would regret for the rest of her life. Around 2 a.m., she walked out to her car in the frigid Bronx winter air and attempted to drive back to her Yonkers apartment, in hopes of getting some sleep before her 8 a.m. Anatomy and Physiology Lab. She had not gone far, and the near-deadly collision that happened on that dreadful night became the darkest of clouds over her otherwise illuminous life.
She was transported the short mile to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, and was arrested and handcuffed to her hospital bed shortly afterwards for driving while intoxicated. It all seemed like a bad dream during those moments, but the hangover of reality as a criminal is something that she could never quite shake.
Nearly three years after the accident, she was found guilty by a Bronx jury on November 21, 2010, of the top two felony charges. At this point, she was married, had a baby, and was able to get a job in her field of study. She was then sentenced to six months in one of America's worst jails: Rikers Island. As the jailtime started, her life on the outside fell apart, and she was forced to rebuild yet again upon her exit.
This is a true story of one girl's struggle to rebuild and regain hope after losing almost everything to one fatal decision. This book encompasses unique journal entries throughout the jail experience, and aftermath of piecing life back together. It is the genuine hope of this author that this book may prevent others from making a similar life-changing mistake.

Author: Cindy Eckard Wakefield
ISBN-10: 8856871149
ISBN-13: 9798856871141
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 08/10/2023
Pages: 286
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d