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briaraq's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
This was a lot.
The author is a very
vain person, and I wasn’t expecting that. I hate that she had to go through all this, but I’m glad she’s better.
The author is a very
vain person, and I wasn’t expecting that. I hate that she had to go through all this, but I’m glad she’s better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
soggypotatoes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content
hurricaneflora's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
5.0
CW: sex work, drug use, drug addiction, sexual violence, and sexual content
When I first read this, I was in high school. As I said in my original review, it caught my eye and I decided to grab it from the shelf. Over the course of nearly ten years since I first read it, my perspective has changed quite a bit. But I still love this book and what it's about. It's very much a product of the times. Very White female-focused, as many memoirs are. But I love how Holden weaves her life's story and is honest about her experiences, both good and bad. I decided to give it a reread after so many years for nonfiction November and I was worried about if it would hold up to the test of time. Still love it. Still think it has an important message to teach.
Original (2012) review
I cannot describe the love I have for this book. Centered around a few controversial subjects, it touches me and pulls me into the tale of a young woman who has to sell her body to keep her habit alive and scrounge through life herself. I recall finding it in my high school's library when I was fourteen on a shelf in the nonfiction section. The title caught my eye and so did the cover and seemed to be barely read. A woman holding something while her knees pulled to her chest. You can't see what she's holding but you know it's something. It took me about two hours to read it the first time through. I devoured it. And then I read it the second time and got the same gratified feeling. And now, at my third time reading it, I feel the same way. This is a book full of hope and it's not bogged down by the realities of her life. This is a book I can recommend to anyone because it touches most people for the simple plot of a person trying to find themselves amid difficulties most of us can't imagine. And most people relate to it very well.
Kate Holden is masterful in her details and is poetic in her words, describing something so harsh in a way that makes it easy to understand and touch. Her descriptions are flawless. The vocabulary shown in this is even better and, I have to say, I had to look up what quite a few meant. This is a book not meant for someone who is afraid of learning something in the process of reading it.
Again, this book can be recommended to anyone so long as they are open minded about sex work and don't automatically shove it down to pretend it doesn't happen. It's a difficult concept to wrap your mind around at times but it's an eye opener if you let it be one.
When I first read this, I was in high school. As I said in my original review, it caught my eye and I decided to grab it from the shelf. Over the course of nearly ten years since I first read it, my perspective has changed quite a bit. But I still love this book and what it's about. It's very much a product of the times. Very White female-focused, as many memoirs are. But I love how Holden weaves her life's story and is honest about her experiences, both good and bad. I decided to give it a reread after so many years for nonfiction November and I was worried about if it would hold up to the test of time. Still love it. Still think it has an important message to teach.
Original (2012) review
I cannot describe the love I have for this book. Centered around a few controversial subjects, it touches me and pulls me into the tale of a young woman who has to sell her body to keep her habit alive and scrounge through life herself. I recall finding it in my high school's library when I was fourteen on a shelf in the nonfiction section. The title caught my eye and so did the cover and seemed to be barely read. A woman holding something while her knees pulled to her chest. You can't see what she's holding but you know it's something. It took me about two hours to read it the first time through. I devoured it. And then I read it the second time and got the same gratified feeling. And now, at my third time reading it, I feel the same way. This is a book full of hope and it's not bogged down by the realities of her life. This is a book I can recommend to anyone because it touches most people for the simple plot of a person trying to find themselves amid difficulties most of us can't imagine. And most people relate to it very well.
Kate Holden is masterful in her details and is poetic in her words, describing something so harsh in a way that makes it easy to understand and touch. Her descriptions are flawless. The vocabulary shown in this is even better and, I have to say, I had to look up what quite a few meant. This is a book not meant for someone who is afraid of learning something in the process of reading it.
Again, this book can be recommended to anyone so long as they are open minded about sex work and don't automatically shove it down to pretend it doesn't happen. It's a difficult concept to wrap your mind around at times but it's an eye opener if you let it be one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
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