When people pick up this book, I suppose they'll be hoping for glossy and sexy. Here it is...
You catch your eyes at your reflection in the mirror on the wall, in the lap-dance room. You see a face look back at you as you bring your arms around their shoulders, press the pink sequined fabric around your chest into their face. Who is that woman in the reflection? Two selves intertwine and it leaves you, in the dance room, making a decision that winged liner is now just for work. Because you don't know which self you are looking at right now, which person you are. The song stops and you break out of your trance and ask if he'd like to extend.
Rita is an escort, one of the best in Australia. It all began on a whim at 18, after she rang the number on a sign looking for nude models. Estranged from her parents and always the outsider, she quickly learns the sex industry is comprised of many other people just like her. Rita becomes immersed in this world-the drugs, the late nights, the glamour, being an outcast, the attention and validation from men and, like a sponge, she soaks it all up. Mostly she thrives on how taboo her life has become. Her only stable relationships are with her two older siblings and when they both suicide, within eight months of each other, her life spirals.
In this achingly honest memoir, Rita learns that death and trauma do not always bring grand transformative experiences. Sometimes in order to go forward, we have to write our own stories and choose to keep living. With its unflinching, compelling and darkly funny narrative, Come announces a fearless new talent in Australian writing.
