Why did you decide to tell your side of the story after all these years?
So many decades have passed now that I really have a good perspective of everything: what I did, what I didn't do. My children are all adults, and a lot of their friends always come up to me and say, “Oh my god, Mrs. B, how did you get through this?” Because now they're married with young children.
I wanted to get to a new generation of young people who are going through their own stuff—some of it is horrifying; some of it is miserable. I want to be an inspiration. I went through something so tragic and horrible, and I'm still here to talk about it. I want people to understand that you can get through this. You can make it. You can stay positive, stay strong, stay honest. It's motivation to help anybody who's going through something really crummy in their lives.
What was your relationship like with Joey when you first met?
We were high school sweethearts. We were together for five years before we got married. We got married when I was 22 years old. We had a good relationship. I thought I picked the right one. I never had a doubt. I knew this was my life partner.
When did the dynamics of your relationship with Joey change?
The dynamics changed when we had children and he didn't grow up. He became my third child, and we argued a lot. He was a good dad to the kids; we had fun, but he just didn't grow up.
Yes, for my sake. Amy Fisher, too. I got to a point where I was angry and I had hate. I’d take another pill, and that would dissipate for a little while, ‘til next time, and I would think: “How come I have to go through all of this? Why me?” Then I started to realize this was eating me up. And I go back to, “I survived the unsurvivable, and I'm being miserable. I don't want to be miserable.” So, I had to forgive them both. The funny thing is now they both have lousy lives.
Do you remember what happened when you opened the door to Amy?
I never saw it coming, but I remember everything. I was painting in the backyard Tuesday afternoon, the kids were in school and the doorbell rang. I answered it [Amy is there] and at the corner of the street, there was a young man in a car and my first thought was, “This kid probably hit a pole or is in trouble, and she brought her boyfriend, and they want Joey to look at the car.”
Then the next words out of her mouth were, “Joey's having an affair with my little sister.” It was a two-minute conversation in broad daylight. I thought: “What the hell is going on?” She said her name was Anne Marie. I said, “I'll go and call Joey and tell him you came by.”
I turned and my head exploded. I thought I got hit with a baseball bat by Joe DiMaggio. I didn't know there was a gun. I just know that was the end of my life there. And the next one started when I woke up at the hospital.
Tell us about the injuries you sustained and the road to recovery.
I almost bled to death right there on my front stoop. They [doctors] didn't know if I would ever walk or talk again. The bullet slammed into my temporal mandibular joint, and the joint deflected the bullet from going through my skull and through my brain, and it severed my carotid artery. I have a lot of problems with my teeth and jaw. I've lost the hearing in my right ear; I have facial paralysis because the bullets hit nerves. But I got my arms, I got my legs, I have my brain—or what’s left of it—and I can be here for my children. So, I was blessed, because I should have died. It was a miracle.
Do you feel like justice was served with Amy’s prison sentence?
Absolutely not. They gave her a sentence of five to 15 years, and she served seven, so no; justice was not served at all in my case. I will say now that Amy was a victim of Joey. He had no right to do what he did. He was 35 years old. She was a child. But having said that, you don't shoot people in the head.
They [prosecutors] came to me and said for my sake, they were going to let her take a plea bargain, so I wouldn't have to go through the rigors of a trial, which, I was ready. I would have liked to have had my day in court.
Can you elaborate on your decision to stay married to Joey for seven years following the shooting? What was the tipping point where you decided enough was enough?
I stayed because I was very sick; I had surgeries. I was bedridden. I had two small children who were traumatized that mommy almost got killed in front of their house. And I believed Joey when he told me he had nothing to do with Amy. I defended him and I looked like an idiot. I was on a lot of medication and I became addicted, but all the reasons to stay started to go away when I started to get healthier.
My children grew up, I saw Joey's behavior was the same as it always had been and I just thought, “I can't do this anymore.” I survived something that people don't survive, and I'm still miserable. I'm with this man, the kids are grown up and they don't need me anymore, so I finally said to him, “I got to go. This isn't working. I'm exhausted.”
What impact did the shooting have on your mental and physical health?
I was a housewife at home minding my own business and then life turned into a three-ring circus. It became about Joey and Amy. I found myself defending him instead of worrying about myself, and it stayed that way for years. My whole youth was spent in pain, agony, arguing, fighting, dealing with lawyers and district attorneys and police officers. It was just a madhouse.
What are you up to now? How is your relationship with your kids?
I've been given this opportunity to survive something that's unsurvivable, and with all the horrible things that are happening, I think people can see me and go: “If she can make it, I can too. I can get through what I need to get through.” I am so blessed. I have my children, I have my grandchildren. They got me through all of this. Life has quieted down for me, but I'm happy and I'm at peace, and that's something I didn't have for 20 years, so I'm grateful.
