Scan barcode
busyreading's review against another edition
4.0
From the age of nine Geena Leigh's home life was tough and at times extremely hard. Living with her mother, father, two sisters and two brothers in Auckland, New Zealand. Geena recalls getting unwanted attention from her father when no one was around. He would visit her bedroom and touch her in places where no father should. Geena only being young just thought that this was what fathers did although she felt uncomfortable she never said anything to anyone. As well as dealing with this she also had to deal with her fathers violent streak.
At fifteen Geena's parents separate and not long after this happens Geena finds herself homeless and from here her life takes a turn for the worst. Geena gets herself into prostitution and to help block things out she will will also turn to drugs and alcohol. It is here that we learn how hard life really is for Geena. The abuse that Geena puts her body and mind through you are extraordinary.
After many years of living this life she will eventually find the strength and determination to turn her life around.
I thought this was a very interesting and inspirational story.
At fifteen Geena's parents separate and not long after this happens Geena finds herself homeless and from here her life takes a turn for the worst. Geena gets herself into prostitution and to help block things out she will will also turn to drugs and alcohol. It is here that we learn how hard life really is for Geena. The abuse that Geena puts her body and mind through you are extraordinary.
After many years of living this life she will eventually find the strength and determination to turn her life around.
I thought this was a very interesting and inspirational story.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
Call Me Sasha, subtitled 'Secret confessions of an Australian call girl', is a memoir of Geena Leigh's extraordinary journey of homelessness, drug addiction, and prostitution and her eventual triumph in reclaiming her life.
A difficult childhood, marred by a volatile and abusive father and a disinterested mother, resulted in Geena leaving home at fifteen. Despite an admirable initial attempt to keep up with her education and support herself with with a full time job, easy access to alcohol and marijuana inevitably interfered with her goals. Broke, in a bad relationship and desperate for something to change, prostitution seemed somehow to be a solution. Despite a general distaste for sex, and little experience, Geena quickly became enmeshed in the life, appreciating the financial rewards and a feeling of belonging amongst her colleagues, ignoring the slow erosion of her fragile sense of self worth. It took decades for Geena to finally extract herself from the life, detoured by addictions to alcohol, heroin and cocaine, an arrest in Greece, rape and abortion. After hitting rock bottom at age 32 she began the arduous process of putting her life back together, earning double degrees, detoxifying, and at age 37, finally turned her back on prostitution.
I always find memoirs challenging to review as obviously the 'story' is deeply personal. I feel Geena relates her journey honestly and without sensationalism. Necessarily there are some explicit descriptions of Geena's sexual experiences, and blunt recounts of drug taking and violence, but these scenes are simply illustrations of truth, rather than attempts to shock. I appreciate that Geena takes responsibility for the direction her life took, though it would have been easy to blame everything on her parents and others, and I admired the way in which she eventually made the decisions necessary to change her life.
I did sometimes feel their was a sense of distance between the memory of events and the narrative, which is not altogether surprising, but occasionally results in a lack of emotional context except in moments of real crisis.
Written with candor, simplicity and courage, Call Me Sasha is an interesting, and ultimately inspiring memoir. I hope she finds lasting strength, love, happiness and peace.
homicidoll's review against another edition
4.0
This memoir was fantastic. I spent most of my work breaks inhaling this until I finally had to take it home with me to finish.
Let me start off by saying that this book is graphic. Geena Leigh holds nothing back as she gives you the life of an abused little girl whose life transitions from ashamed prostitute to empowered woman and I was completely enthralled the whole way. This book goes into the nitty gritty. From the horrors of childhood, the shamed sex, the alcohol and drugs, and so much more.. be prepared when you read this book. She doesn't hide anything.
But I believe that's what makes this memoir so successful. You completely feel for Geena and her alter-ego Sasha the whole way. You don't see sluts or whores, but women who have to survive. These women have had to take their own lives in their hands and if any one sees it differently, they aren't reading the same book. Too often do we judge the women behind these encounters but this memoir made me think so long and hard about the men that she had to subject herself to.
It's a realistic and dark book but Geena Leigh writes it in a way that has a positive outlook. You completely get sucked into the descriptions and the places her journey takes her. Don't be afraid of this book being too dark. You already know it works out and that this woman took control of her life.
I could honestly rave about this book for days but you should just read the book yourself. Even if you hardly ever read non-fiction, like me. It's worth it. Plus, the title has my name. That makes me feel important. The only thing keeping this book from a 5 star rating is that I feel as though Geena Leigh is an unreliable narrator at times. I can't see her remembering her life in such vivid detail as she has in this book. I love that she took us there and made it feel with every bit of its substance but it also made me wonder how far she went with it. Minor but it did strike me a few places in the book.
But don't let the subtitle fool you. It's more than a memoir of a prostitute; it's a memoir of a strong woman trying to survive and I would recommend it to anyone who can stomach some graphic storytelling.
Let me start off by saying that this book is graphic. Geena Leigh holds nothing back as she gives you the life of an abused little girl whose life transitions from ashamed prostitute to empowered woman and I was completely enthralled the whole way. This book goes into the nitty gritty. From the horrors of childhood, the shamed sex, the alcohol and drugs, and so much more.. be prepared when you read this book. She doesn't hide anything.
But I believe that's what makes this memoir so successful. You completely feel for Geena and her alter-ego Sasha the whole way. You don't see sluts or whores, but women who have to survive. These women have had to take their own lives in their hands and if any one sees it differently, they aren't reading the same book. Too often do we judge the women behind these encounters but this memoir made me think so long and hard about the men that she had to subject herself to.
It's a realistic and dark book but Geena Leigh writes it in a way that has a positive outlook. You completely get sucked into the descriptions and the places her journey takes her. Don't be afraid of this book being too dark. You already know it works out and that this woman took control of her life.
I could honestly rave about this book for days but you should just read the book yourself. Even if you hardly ever read non-fiction, like me. It's worth it. Plus, the title has my name. That makes me feel important. The only thing keeping this book from a 5 star rating is that I feel as though Geena Leigh is an unreliable narrator at times. I can't see her remembering her life in such vivid detail as she has in this book. I love that she took us there and made it feel with every bit of its substance but it also made me wonder how far she went with it. Minor but it did strike me a few places in the book.
But don't let the subtitle fool you. It's more than a memoir of a prostitute; it's a memoir of a strong woman trying to survive and I would recommend it to anyone who can stomach some graphic storytelling.
samstillreading's review against another edition
5.0
Call Me Sasha is one of those books whose cover has always grabbed me. Plus, I was a big fan of books featuring call girls in my younger days (such as those by Belle De Jour) so I thought this would be a light story to listen to in the car. I was entirely wrong about this – Call Me Sasha is not a book to be grouped in that category. Geena Leigh’s memoir is eye opening, haunting and incredibly sad in places. It made my jaw drop several times in wonder – how could people be so cruel to each other? What is amazing is that Geena has been through many horrible, terrible things and has reached a happier place where she can tell the reader about it. She has an excellent way of letting the story unfold and refusing to colour herself and her story with rose tinted glasses.
The book starts with Geena’s youth, spent back and forth between New Zealand and Australia. She was always the new girl, the one with the funny accent. Things weren’t easy, changing schools and friends and it didn’t help that her father sexually abused her. In her teens, both of her parents stated that they didn’t want Geena and she was forced to crash on friends’ couches. Finishing high school, something she desperately wanted, wasn’t going to be achievable. After a conversation with a friend of her mother’s, Geena decided that prostitution would be the way out of an abusive relationship and give her money and freedom. The money came as did the freedom – being able to travel and afford nice things. Unfortunately, it came with a downside – gaol time, drugs and drinking, in addition to unhealthy relationships and abuse. But through it all, Geena finished her education, fell in love and got out of ‘the game’.
Geena’s writing style is to the point. She never paints herself as the innocent and wrong party, she admits her faults. What shines is her strength to get through these times and perseverance to finish her secondary education and go on to university. If she stumbled, she tried again and again. It took time, but she got there. Louise Crawford was also an excellent narrator for Call Me Sasha. She not only read the book, but performed it with such emotion that I couldn’t help but be affected by it. I think listening to the book made the story much more powerful, as if Geena herself was sitting in the car talking to me. There were times when I told Geena not to move in with that man, to get out before he hurt her and there were other times when I was ecstatic at Geena’s achievements. This is a very powerful, raw story. I don’t feel that enjoyed is the right word…I feel something closer to empowerment – because if Geena can overcome her huge obstacles, surely I can overcome my more petty ones.
Call Me Sasha will redeem your faith in the human spirit. Thank you Geena for sharing your story.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The book starts with Geena’s youth, spent back and forth between New Zealand and Australia. She was always the new girl, the one with the funny accent. Things weren’t easy, changing schools and friends and it didn’t help that her father sexually abused her. In her teens, both of her parents stated that they didn’t want Geena and she was forced to crash on friends’ couches. Finishing high school, something she desperately wanted, wasn’t going to be achievable. After a conversation with a friend of her mother’s, Geena decided that prostitution would be the way out of an abusive relationship and give her money and freedom. The money came as did the freedom – being able to travel and afford nice things. Unfortunately, it came with a downside – gaol time, drugs and drinking, in addition to unhealthy relationships and abuse. But through it all, Geena finished her education, fell in love and got out of ‘the game’.
Geena’s writing style is to the point. She never paints herself as the innocent and wrong party, she admits her faults. What shines is her strength to get through these times and perseverance to finish her secondary education and go on to university. If she stumbled, she tried again and again. It took time, but she got there. Louise Crawford was also an excellent narrator for Call Me Sasha. She not only read the book, but performed it with such emotion that I couldn’t help but be affected by it. I think listening to the book made the story much more powerful, as if Geena herself was sitting in the car talking to me. There were times when I told Geena not to move in with that man, to get out before he hurt her and there were other times when I was ecstatic at Geena’s achievements. This is a very powerful, raw story. I don’t feel that enjoyed is the right word…I feel something closer to empowerment – because if Geena can overcome her huge obstacles, surely I can overcome my more petty ones.
Call Me Sasha will redeem your faith in the human spirit. Thank you Geena for sharing your story.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
More...