Today is the 1 year anniversary of my release from Rikers Island. I was there for almost 4 months.

As I've written before, Rikers is a horrible place. I wouldn't wish a "stay" there on anyone, not even my worst enemy. It was July 2, 2008 that my attorney, Dan Hochheiser negotiated my bail and I was released on a $400,000 bond and an ankle bracelet to ensure I returned to court.

My parents put up their house to secure my bail. They flew from California to bail me out- the whole time not even knowing what I was doing for a living. They thought I was still VP of a Hedge Fund.

The day of my bail hearing I wrote a letter to God. I also wrote my "itinerary" for the day. I plotted out my entire day including my release and hugging my family. When I learned that I was making bail (I hadn't been able to because it was $2 million) I looked at my itinerary and I was only 15 minutes shy of what I had timed as my learning of my release. I got out shortly thereafter and pretty much followed my itinerary to within 15 minutes (the power of positive thinking).

So today I celebrate my freedom with my family. They were the only ones there for me and have stood by my side throughout this entire thing. I used to carry a letter my mother wrote me to each of my court dates and always felt like she was with me, telling me it would be ok and loving me unconditionally.

When I got out I was so happy to hug my family. It had been months since I had any human interaction. All I wanted to do was spend time with my family. And thats what Im doing today!