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    Destination Tent City, AZ
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    Destination Tent City, AZ
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    Destination Tent City, AZ
    Ebook153 pages1 hour

    Destination Tent City, AZ

    By Mark Feuerer

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    One day a young woman--a productive member of society--stopped for a few beers, then drove on. She was a middle-class offender, so the law came down hard, sentencing her to ten days in Tent City, a prison of tents as fetid, repressive, and scorching-hot as any POW camp. The bad news went on and on: steep legal bills, endless fines, a malfunctioning interlock device ... In the end she was broke, humiliated, and everyone in her new social circle had a criminal record. Did the punishment fit the crime? Is this really the most effective way to keep problem drinkers off the road?//Ever since Tent City was established in 1993, this jail in Maricopa, Arizona, has been making headlines. Destination Tent City, AZ chronicles a two-year period of a young woman’s life after she, like so many Americans, made the fateful decision to drink and drive. This “as told to” account of the practical and psychological repercussions of receiving a DUI should give readers pause the next time they decide to drive away from happy hour. Especially if they happen to be in Arizona.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCoffeetown Press
    Release dateAug 3, 2011
    ISBN9781603811101
    Unavailable
    Destination Tent City, AZ
    Author

    Mark Feuerer

    Mark Feuerer was born and raised in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, a small town just northwest of Milwaukee. He is the youngest of eight siblings. Mark headed off to Princeton University in 1984, where he played baseball, football and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. After a short stint playing professional baseball in Australia in 1989-1990, he settled into a career in the heavy construction equipment industry, working on both the manufacturing and dealership sides of the business. He received his MBA in 1998 from Keller Graduate School of Management and spent 2003 in law school at New England School of Law. In 2008, he married his wife Kelly (nee Weigand), managing attorney for a healthcare network provider. Mark, Kelly, and their three cats and one dog live in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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    Reviews for Destination Tent City, AZ

    3.5/5

    9 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The actual events of this persons life were quite interesting. I thought that the book lacked structure and a flowing storyline. While I liked the actual story the format and process of it were terrible.
    • 2/5
      I found this story to honest and unusual. Does tent city work for minor infringements as opposed to prisons? It seems to have a workable deterrent. The author was honest and seemed to be learning. The book, however, didn't flow for me and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know. sorry
    • 3/5
      Not being from the USA, I hadn't heard of Tent City in Arizona before, but I must have been significantly intrigued enough to request the book. I think I was probably expecting a work of fiction set in a real place, but with fiction being its driving force. But what I got instead was a surmon about the dangers of drink-driving - or more accurately the dangers of being caugher drink-driving. It is billed as "as told to" suggesting it is entirely a true story - but it really could have done with some selection in what was included. A lot of the details of her routine weren't particularly interesting and added nothing to my understanding.Another issue I had with the book is that I don't like being preached to. Whilst many books will have an agenda to them, it is usually hidden or disguised amongst a plot. Not so here. I objected to the assumption that drinking and driving is something that everyone does until they are caught. I don't and I'm pretty sure a good percentage of the population doesn't either. I'm sure there are many people out there with stories that would turn even the most reckless drink-driver against it, but this wasn't one of them. It was hard to feel a whole amount of sympathy for the protagonist, for whom the whole thing was an inconvenience, financial burden and an embarrassment, but not exactly life shattering. What about the stories of those people who've been seriously injured or lost loved ones in drink-driving incidents?Having said that, I did find it an easy read and I was compelled to keep reading. But there could be a so much better story on the same subject caught up somewhere amongst this.
    • 4/5
      At first I thought this was fiction, because the narrator is first-person and female and the author is male, but then I saw the "as told to" and now I just think that this guy offered to let her use his name because she was embarrassed to have people to know who she was. I don't see that he did a whole lot of editing or cleaning up the narrative flow. What I'm trying to say is that it read as very amateurish. The narrative has two tracks, one beginning on the first day of her incarceration at Tent City and the other on the day her DUI happened. This alternation works moderately well at the beginning, but towards the end when we're reading about her last day in Tent City right next to a paragraph about her last day before Tent City, it feels really awkward. Also, she skips over most of the legal stuff, with no discussion of her sentence. She states that she should've taken a counselor's advice and not gotten a lawyer, but she never explains why; what did that lawyer do or not do that made things worse for her? To be fair, this was very interesting to read about, particularly since my job involves part of the DWI process in the state of Minnesota. I was very intrigued by how things work in Arizona, and how much more it appears to cost a first time offender. She spends a little time talking about how the experience is likely to influence her future behavior and I would be interested to know how well she does with her vow to never drink and drive again once she's off the monitor. It's been my experience that a terrible experience with the judicial system does not frequently keep people from breaking the law in the future, it just makes them a little more careful. No criminal ever thinks they're going to get caught, though. That's the main reason for recidivism, other than the fact that after a while you forget how much it sucks. Overall, this was an entertaining book to read and I will be passing it around my co-workers.
    • 3/5
      Overall, I thought this book did a decent job of showing the cause and effects of drunk driving, as well as describing some of the inner workings of Tent City. This was billed as a "told-to" narrative, but at times the writing was so cliched and contrived that I found it difficult to believe that there really was a real (nameless) driver behind the story. It's a quick read, and it does have the potential to be a helpful tool in preventing young drivers from getting behind the wheel after drinking.
    • 3/5
      This book was interesting to me, having worked previously worked in corrections, although not in Tent City. I learned that the basic tennets of any correctional facility still apply to this one, the main difference is this one is hotter. I didn't really like the structure of the narrative. The author alternates between her time at Tent City and the days and weeks after her actual arrest which eventually led her to Tent City. It was hard to follow either story since it jumped around so much. I am not sure why the story wasn't told in chronological order.
    • 3/5
      I felt this book was more a 'manual' of the aftermath of getting a DUI than a personal story, but quite interesting nonetheless. It is a 'told to' account of one woman's self-inflicted plight into the world of arrest, fines, court dates, more fines, and jail. I know that LOTS of people drive under the influence, especially 'buzzed' driving, and I believe a lot of people reading 'Destination Tent City, AZ' will feel uncomfortable looking back on all of the examples of having done it, or been in cars where someone else is doing it .Most of these people are not alcoholics either, but rather people of all ages who have a drink or two with a fancy dinner, or at a sports bar during a game, or at a summer barbeque.I'm not judging- but I don't think I'm dealing with a non-alcoholic in this particular story. As the book opens, the woman -I'll call her 'X' - heads to a bar she refers to as 'Church' at nine am, where she knows everyone by name. She has 'a beer' to start off her day, and I was immediately thinking: 'This is NOT a casual drinker' (not judging, just being honest) She refers to failed relationships- one with a man she calls 'Lucky'- though I get the distinct impression that he is named by the 'opposites rule'- like a fat guy they call 'Slim'. But what really shocks me, is when- after procuring the DUI and being arrested, 'X' decides to kill herself (!!) and this is where I part ways with relating to her. I absolutely can understand being highly upset about a DUI-who wouldn't be?- but to actually take 20 Klomapin and 20 Ambien pills, write suicide notes and lock your two beloved dogs in a separate room- seems incredibly out of of proportion with the situation at hand. (She did, however send out texts and e-mails- so part of her wanted to be found- and she was) Worse, though- is when she is brought to the hospital, where, upon waking up, grabs a plastic knife off of her food tray and saws her wrist open, bleeding out all over the room. There is MUCH wrong in 'X''s life, the DUI is obviously tip of the iceberg. She is also very, very bitter towards her family, and this often makes her sound like a petulant child. After all- she's 46 years old!Still, the author charts the trajectory of the drunk driving charge in a pretty straight-forward way. The money it costs (lots!) the court ordered classes, the SR-22 insurance forms, the interlock ignition system (wherein one must blow into a machine in order for their vehicle to start) and of coarse, 'Tent City'-the mostly outdoor facilities that is a 'make-shift' jail in Arizona. Once again, I was startled when I realized that 'X' was serving a TEN DAY sentence, and was released for 10 hours a day to 'work' (though where did she work? It seemed like she was going home to her apartment?) on weekdays. Her response to this sentence, and the facilities, was more appropriate to someone serving 'real' time (a year or more?) but by now I was used to 'X's' dramatic take on pretty much everything. What I learned from the book apart from 'X's' personal story, is that there are lots of people who work within the penal system, whose job it is to make life difficult for 'criminals', and treat them in a terribly degrading manner. There is a distinct conflict of interest as well, wherein many people who run the system make boatloads of money off of the misery of lots of even one-time convicts, many decent human beings- and that there but for the grace of God go any one of us, should we make even one mistake (drunk driving is only one example of many) But since the system has people up against the wall, and can use the excuse of 'If you don't want to be here, don't do the crime'- they virtually have no defense, and no one to defend them. On top of this, most people are too embarrassed to admit these things have happened to them, and this plays right into the hands of the profiteers. It's probably not relevant to most of us, as we will not go to jail, but to degrade people as a sport, and to make big money off of them- can't possibly be right- or help to 'rehabilitate' them. These actions have a way of 'coming home to roost' in my opinion. There must be a better way.I think anyone who wants to see what goes on in jail, and understand the monetary impact a guilty verdict has on the system and the people who profit from it, would do well to read this book. But maybe imagine 'X' to be a family member or good friend instead, as 'X's' dramatics can be exasperating at times.
    • 4/5
      The book borders on the edge of being a "woe is me" tale... I'm not sure why we're supposed to feel sorry for the fact that her drinking and driving conviction and followup punishment cost her just over $11,000. Yeah, that's a lot of money...But what if she ran over your kid while driving drunk? Would $11K be enough punishment then? No, she didn't kill anyone... this time. But without appropriate punishments, there will ALWAYS be a next time. She doesn't like the interlock device on her truck? Tough nuggies... don't get drunk and get behind the wheel and it won't be an issue. Still drunk the night after a party? Tough nuggies... everyone should know by now that it doesn't matter if you've slept or had coffee, etc... only time will sober you up. If you're over the limit 13 hours after you've stopped drinking, then clearly you've had more alcohol than your body can process in 13 hours. Count your drinks.What? Maybe she's an alcoholic and it's not her fault she drinks too much? Do we give heroin addicts the same "pass" when they steal or prostitute because they need to get their next fix? Nope...I actually liked the book, however. I thought it was a good insight into what you risk when you decide to break the law. If you don't like the law, move to somewhere where the laws suit you better... otherwise, obey them and you'll not find yourself in Tent City.
    • 4/5
      When setting out to review this book I found it difficult to consider the “star” rating. I thought the idea behind the memoir was great but felt the execution lacked conviction. It is perhaps more appropriate that I award a rating based on how the book left me feeling rather than the actual words on the page (which weren’t great!). Thankfully this is a short memoir to read, I say thankfully because of its structure. The chapters begin with her time at Tent City in Arizona and then with a small break they move on to a stage in the process leading up to her incarceration, which is fine until you get to a point where she is approaching the end of her jail sentence and then begin reading about the day before it begins. It just doesn’t flow well.I hadn’t heard of Tent City before acquiring this memoir and I subsequently went on to read information on the internet about the place. Definitely no soft option for anyone in there but with regards this memoir, I was fascinated to see that even though she was only jailed for 10 days, that she left every morning about 6am for about 13 hours. Wow! So whilst it was definitely an emotional experience for her (and one I definitely wouldn’t want to go through), she still had free days. I found the remainder of the processing from her DUI very interesting to read about, such as the changes to her licence and the equipment she needed in her car etc. This was informative and really shows how her life changed, more so for me than her 10 days of jail time. The biggest dislike of this memoir was her preaching. Not everyone drinks and drives and this is how she comes across, not everyone breaks the law every time they go out or takes a drive across country with a beer cooler in the boot/trunk for fun. At times (well a lot of the time) it became a sermon whereas when she was informing it was much more appropriate. I felt some of the routines were too detailed, such as I wasn’t bothered about her taking the dogs to the vet or going to watch a film (and I certainly wasn’t bothered knowing which film or how much). I would also have liked to hear what she thought her family might be feeling. I thought the additions to the end of the memoir were good, such as explaining what is wrong with the equipment that DUI offenders have to use for a year after their offences – there were some great suggestions added in here. So, as I said at the beginning I would award a star not so much for the execution but how I felt about the memoir afterwards. I’ve learned a lot about Tent City from this and also the processes involved in a DUI in a different country; I also think even though the execution of the memoir is poor it is highly readable (even though it does need some editing!). Therefore, overall I will remember this memoir in a way I haven’t remembered some that I’ve read meaning it gets 4 stars.