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Product Details:
Author:
Anne Bissell
Hardcover:
299 pages
Publisher:
Cleopatra International Publications LLC
Publication Date:
2004-01
Language:
English
ISBN:
0974606006
Package Length:
9.3 inches
Package Width:
6.3 inches
Package Height:
1.1 inches
Package Weight:
1.4 pounds
Average Customer Rating:
based on 20 reviews
Description:
"No one's ever been born a whore", alleges Ann Bissell. Something powerful has to happen to make a little girl grow up into a lady of the evening. Bissell should know. A 'reformed' prostitute who started selling herself for money at the age of seventeen, she tells the gripping story of her turning away from prostitution. This powerful new novel sends a chilling wake-up call to anyone even thinking about entering the sex industry. Juliet West is about to be married for the second time -- to a conservative Christian who may not be comfortable with the idea that his fiancee has a bit more sexual experience than she's led him to believe. Or, that she's having affair after affair as she meticulously attends to the plans for their wedding. Add to it that Juliet's scheduled to appear on the 'Donahue' show to discuss the new 12-step program for women with pasts like hers and you have the recipe for a story that might be funny if it weren't true. Indeed, every part of Juliet's story is imbued with Ms Bissell's irrepressible wit and ear for irony as she jumps back and forth in time searching for the cause of her 'addiction' to what she broadly labels 'the sex industry'. This is the first book in a trilogy, and it launches the Juliet West series. Juliet West battles the silent conspiracy of shame that immobilises sexual abuse survivors around the United States, and worldwide. The Juliet West series is a brand new kind of mystery. The mystery of the lost female soul. This series launches a new genre for the 21st century called FusionFiction'. FusionFiction' is a blend of fiction and nonfiction -- some might even call it 'Reality Fiction'.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Review:
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A MUST read for ALL!Dec 12, 2008 From one survivor to another- this is the best book I've ever read. I couldn't put it down. I cried, laughed and cried again. In the end they were tears of joy knowing I made it out and "Yes, it was THAT hard to get out!" No one has the authority to speak on said topic unless they have been there. And not many who have been there in the underbelly of society we call the "sex-trade" come out-PERIOD. Let alone, finding their voice, articulating it and then actually putting constructive thought to word into action. The painful events that more often than not occur, as did in Anne Bissell's story, leading up to her life prior to her ascent into the sex-trade often keep one ever from attaining any much more greater mental health after leaving the sex-trade then they had perhaps acquired prior to just entering the sex-trade. BUT- that is not the case with Anne. She is not a floozy. She is not uneducated or delusional. She is wise. Wise before the "sex-trade" but even wiser now. This story so accurately retells the absolute TRUTH of what it is to suffer at the core level from a deep penetrating soul sickness. One that has been built upon by layers and layers of abuse, abandonment and betrayal. This is a story of identification, ownership, understanding and ultimately triumph!
"POWERFUL"Nov 14, 2008 "Memoirs of a Sex Industry Survivor" is a rich source for anyone interested in exploring the sociological aspects of the sex industry and recovery, or like myself, who have a loved one who is a Sex Industry Survivor.
I learned of Anne Bissell's book and her website while doing research on the Internet, and called the toll free number to get involved with bringing her organization to Seattle due its' high volume of prostituted teens/survivors who are given minimal options for recovery. Since the day I called, she and I have been working together on continuing and implementing her vision here, in the Western Washington region. Her story and dedication are of great influence, not only the survivors of the sex industry, but to those in the community and in the government who are impacted by the epidemic of commercial sexual exploitation.
Anne Bissell's memoir vividly records life as a prostituted teen, life thereafter struggling in her addiction and eventual healing. This is as real as it gets! Her text is as reflective as it is evocative. A must read! Not predictable, the book kept me eager to read the next chapter. As I read the very last sentence in the book, I was left more than satisfied, and with one single thought: "POWERFUL"!
Could not put the book down!Jun 12, 2007 This book is fantastic! It was riveting! Once I picked it up and began to read, I could not put it down!
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
A Great Read! Informative and honest!Sep 20, 2006 I read this book recently and it was such a great read! I am a sexual abuse survivor myself, and this book really shows how one thing leads to another in the sex industry. This is a good book to read if you are a survivor yourself, or if you are curious how it is women (and some men, too) get into the sex industry (pornography films and magazines, strip clubs, prostitution, etc...). If more people knew how this cycle really worked, more women and children could be saved from a devastating life-style. Through this book, I learned that just because a person working in the sex industry smiles through his/her job does NOT mean they really want to be there. It's not so much a choice at that point - too much harm has already been done, and they feel as if there is really nowhere else to go. THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
great book...very emotionally descriptiveApr 05, 2006
This book was great...next to Lap Dancer and the fairly
new release..Dance to Despair , memoirs of an exotic dancer..
it was one of my favorites...these women ought to get together
and go on the Ophra show...you all have incredible stories
that I think would intrigue the public....
based on 20 reviews
