The Trip Back

Florence Louise Fisher Bacolod''Florida Death Index, 1877-1998'' (September 18, 1918 – May 26, 1972) was an American motivational speaker in the 1960s and 1970s who traveled to high schools in the United States, telling stories about her past as a heroin addict and prostitute. Her eccentric mannerisms and often lurid stories – which included tales of prostitution, jailhouse lesbianism, and botched abortions – made her into a cult figure in the late 1970s and 1980s, with VHS tapes of her speaking engagements becoming collector's items.

Biography

Fisher was born in Brooklyn, New York to Morris Banz Fisher (1878–1971) and Pauline Ginsberg Fisher (1891–1983), both Lithuanian Jews. Her father was a life insurance salesman who immigrated in 1896.

Fisher said she had a series of short-lived marriages. She describes being married at least four separate times: first in a family-arranged marriage to a childhood friend named Joe Rosinsky; next, to her pimp, whom she identified in her autobiography as David Bohm; to a heroin junkie identified as Danny Orenstein, who claimed to be an insurance collector in Miami, Florida; and lastly, in 1968, to a Filipino sheet metal foreman named Manuel Bacolod, whom she initially met as a pen pal just prior to becoming a motivational speaker.

After an interview with David Susskind generated 100,000 letters, Susskind invited Fisher to appear on ''The Mike Douglas Show'', which he co-hosted in 1969.Susskind, David (1970)
The lady is back from hell.
In Murphy, Thomas H. (ed.) / ''Wisconsin Alumnus'', Vol. 71, Number 4 (Feb. 1970) pp. 9-14. Fisher then began speaking at schools and wrote the autobiography ''The Lonely Trip Back'', which told of her life from childhood up to the point when she became a motivational speaker.Fisher, Florrie (1971). ''The Lonely Trip Back: As told to Jean Davis and Todd Persons.'' Doubleday, ASIN B0006DYQEM

In 1970, she appeared in ''The Trip Back'', a public service announcement recording of her appearance at a New York high school.''New York Daily News'' (1970). The Trip Back. Directed by Ralph Weisinger, Avon Productions Fisher's stories were often lurid or sensational, such as her assertion that she knew six men who had been sentenced to death at Sing Sing and Raiford Prison for committing six separate murders while under the influence of marijuana.Douglas, Mike (1973)
Back from Hell.
''The Rotarian'' March 1973, pp. 36-38. During her time as a motivational speaker, Fisher was affiliated with the rehabilitation movement Synanon, which she credited with helping her beat her addiction. (Synanon was later described as one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen"; it disbanded in 1991 after several members were convicted of offenses including financial misdeeds, evidence tampering, terrorism, and attempted murder.) She also had ties to Phoenix House, a sister organization of Synanon's, and often recommended it to students during her speeches as a reliable means of combating addictions.

Fisher died in Miami in 1972 from liver cancer, kidney failure and cardiac arrest.

A recording of one of Fisher's speaking engagements played an influential role on the creation of the TV show ''Strangers With Candy'' and the character of Jerri Blank.

References

External links

*
For the Love of Florrie
(online tribute)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Florrie
1918 births
1972 deaths
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
American motivational speakers
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
American prostitutes
American women motivational speakers
American women non-fiction writers
Deaths from kidney failure in Florida
Deaths from liver cancer in Florida
Jewish American non-fiction writers
Jewish women writers
People from Brooklyn