Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity

Kerry Cohen is only eleven years old when she recognizes the power of her female form in the leer of a grown man. Her parents are recently divorced, and it doesn't take long before their lassitude and Kerry's desire to stand out, to be memorable in some way, combine to lead her down a path she senses she shouldn't take. Kerry wanted attention and she wanted love. Vulnerable and adrift, she turned to sex instead.

Loose Girl is Kerry's captivating memoir about her descent into promiscuity and how she gradually found her way toward real intimacy. It's a story of addiction—not just to sex but to male attention, how she came to believe boys and men could fill her emptiness, and how she tried to control them by handing over her body. From the early rush of exploration, when her virginity was technically still intact, to the day she learned to quiet the desperation and allow herself to be loved, Kerry's story is never less than riveting. In rich and immediate detail, Loose Girl re-creates what it feels like to be in that desperate moment, when the touch of a boy seems to offer proof of something—of being worthwhile, of being loved—but ultimately delivers little more than emptiness. Kerry's journey from that hopeless place to her current confident, happy existence is a cautionary tale and a revelation for girls both young and old.