My Story...

Natalie Peters

Description

WHAT IF THE PERSON YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE WAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BY A SINGLE ACT?
Natalie Peters is a well-educated and experienced health care professional working in the disability field in the town of Queensland, Australia.
Plagued by ongoing mental health conditions, her life is turned upside down by an uncharacteristic and traumatic crime.
Imprisoned for such offences, she experiences the intriguing hardness of prison life within the Queensland Correctional Service. What is prison life actually like and how will she survive?

Sujets

• Personal Memoirs
• Biography
• Memoir
• Autobiography
• Prison

Informations

• Publié par: Balboa Press AU
• Date de parution: 01 août 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781982297749
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

My Story...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Natalie Peters
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2023 Natalie Peters.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
 
Balboa Press
A Division of Hay House
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Bloomington, IN 47403
www.balboapress.com.au
AU TFN: 1 800 844 925 (Toll Free inside Australia)
AU Local: [phone] ([phone] from outside Australia)
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]
 
 
 
ISBN: 978-1-9822-9775-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-9822-9774-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023913706
 
Balboa Press rev. date:  07/27/2023
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Some names and identifying details or places have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. I have tried to recreate events, locales and conversations from my memories of them.
I would like to especially thank those angels in disguise in my life. To my now husband, who was my boyfriend at the time of the incident, family, friends and Church community, second to my Lord and Saviour, I know it was your prayers and unwavering love and support that got me through. I will never be able to convey the gratitude I feel. I am privileged to have you in my life.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
 
COURT
GOD PREPARED MY WAY THROUGH A POM
WATCHHOUSE
CELL BUDDIES
CREATURE COMFORTS
TRANSFER FROM HELL
WATCHHOUSE
I’M “FREE”
WELCOME TO THE MACHINE – Women’s Correctional Centre
SURVIVAL LESSONS OF UNIT 10
TRUTH OR LIES
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
MEALS IN UNIT 10
GOING TO THE CHAPEL
PROCESSES AND TRICKS
UNIT 10 CULTURE
MELTDOWN
YOGA STYLE
FIRST “BUY UP!”
MY PEOPLE
TRANSFER AGAIN
CELL 5
BODYGUARD
TRANSFERS AND PROCESSING
BITTER IRONY
TRUTH OR LIES?
VISITORS
ONE SUNDAY IN MARCH
CONFLICT
THINGS THAT BUG ME – 12 TH March 2019
SIMPLE PLEASURES
THIS IS GAOL
CODE BLUE
GAOL BIRDS – A Breed of Our Own
ACTION ON THE BLOCK
BITTER SWEET BUY-UP
WORK, WORK, WORK
SEROQUEL
WHAT A DAY!
LEST WE FORGET
BULLY
COWARD’S PUNCH
THE BULLY RIPPLE EFFECT
HEALING
MEDICAL MADNESS
SURVIVAL STRATEGIES
MY SAFE PLACE
REPENTENCE AND JUSTICE
“SUPER” SUPER
RELEASE
 
EPILOGUE - PLEASURE AND PAIN
APPENDIX
ENCOURAGEMENT GIVEN BY CHAPLAINS
PROLOGUE
In writing this testimony my primary goal was to have an account of my experience as a prisoner in Australia and to help me debrief on my release. As I have poured over my many “scrawlings” on prison provided notepads, it became clear to me that I had another agenda.
Help. If my meagre writings could help or provide encouragement to someone else, even just one person, then that would be great. I don’t know if that is the direction this will take but my heart feels right doing it.
As you read my words, I am not asking for sympathy. Plain and simple, I broke the law and deserved the consequences. I do have a couple of considerations I would like to challenge you with.
Being in gaol, wearing the same clothes, following the same routines and eating the same food, I learnt that there, in gaol, we were all equals. A murderer was not treated any different from a drug offender or thief. We had been judged (on the outside) but on the inside there was no judgement. We were all on the same playing field. The opinions of the outside world seemed mostly irrelevant. Even the Officers treated us equally and fairly.
Prison life opened my naïve eyes to the lives of many women who never had the same love, support, resources and opportunities that I did. I met some remarkable women in prison and am glad to have had that honour.
I do want to highlight however that my comments are not made as a defence. Every woman, including of myself, in the gaols I talk about:
1. Committed and was found guilty of a crime (s)
2. Legal retribution and punishment was justified.
And so, I ask that you consider:
1. Are you willing to be cautious and even reluctant to judge others?
2. Are you willing to show empathy and equality to people who have lost their way?
COURT
Date: 15.02. 2019
I started my story as I received my “Welcome Pack” from Legal Aid the day prior containing a writing pad and pen.
My journey took a significant turn on Thursday 07/02/2019 in Queensland. I had quite thoroughly prepared my life in the preceding months for the possibility of immediate detainment into custody. Being an organised person and driven by a motivation to seek forgiveness, I had compacted my entire life into a well written eight-page document. This covered everything from who was power of attorney, where my two beautiful dogs would live, where my car would be housed and when and how ongoing bills would need to be paid.
Much of my support base were united in the belief I would not be gaoled. I however hedged a bet of 60/40, in favour of gaol. Of course, I hoped I was wrong.
The day prior to court I re-homed my dogs, and made final arrangements that I hoped I would be reversing over the next couple of days.
In the year between my committing the offences, on 27 th March 2018, and my sentencing I experienced a sense of strange dissociation. I had fortunately been released on bail, which for several months was extended and re-extended. I was keen to be issued a court date so I could face up to things and start the slow return to normal life.
As the months passed, I carried a heavy sense of uncertainty and foreboding. I tried to get on with life, shopping, paying rent and trying to experience joy. My family and friends were ever supportive for which I was very blessed. It felt strange carrying on with daily life, experiencing relative freedom, knowing that it would probably be short lived.
On the day of my sentencing, I had about 10-12 friends come to court to support me in a Queensland Court. I was so overwhelmed. Not only was this the most traumatic day I had experienced in my life, but it was softened immensely with the realty of beautiful people who loved and supported me and most of all, shared a hope of pardon that I was struggling to believe in. I think the most touching memory of this day was whilst I was waiting at the front of the Courthouse. I was sucking on a cigarette, a nasty habit I had picked up whilst on parole. I observed an elderly man struggling to remove his walker from the back seat of his car. I approached to offer assistance and realised “hang on….that’s Frisch!” a lovely elderly Danish friend of mine. I hastened to help him and noticed his wife getting out of the driver’s side of the car. Madi, a wonderfully strong and intelligent woman ran a hectic and disjointed business providing in-flight meal packs for Qantas frights. She worked tirelessly every day, getting up before the rest of Queensland woke to have things ready for the first morning flight. Over the years of knowing this couple I had gained an insight into some of the physical challenges Frisch had with his mobility and daily function. An outing to Court would have been a significant effort and possibly pain inducing. I felt so loved and supported as I fought back tears of gratitude.
Once outside the courtroom, I paced nervously between my friends, each of them doing their best to offer encouragement, support and hope.
I had another blessing that morning. I had fairly recently reconnected with an old friend, having buried the hatchet on prior hurts. Five days prior to Court, I went on a motorbike ride with her, her partner and her father. I love motorbikes and now collected miniatures. I used to ride and loved these times. The biker blood in me was churning despite my current circumstances meaning I was bikeless. I borrowed an old 1983 Suzuki GR650 fondly named Shimra (meaning Keep Safe in Hebrew) from her and we went on an awesome ride around the surrounding region. I had a blast and despite my internal fears about my impending court appearance, managed not to drop it! Joining us was her father, Wayne, a rough Biker dude who rode a Hog, who ended up being one of t