Loose Girl : A Memoir of Promiscuity

From Publishers Weekly Despite the rather prurient title, Cohen's memoir is a deeply poignant, desperately sad account of a confused, directionless adolescent girl's free fall into self-abnegation. Growing up affluent in New Jersey in the 1980s and smarting from the recent breakup of her parents, 11-year-old Cohen begins to recognize the power her nubile body has over men. Being wanted becomes her greatest hope; once she and her older sister, Tyler, begin living with her father when her mother decides to attend med school in the Philippines, she latches onto other girls with whom she treks into New York City to bar hop at places like Dorian's Red Hand and pick up older, eager boys. Stunningly, the father is not alarmed by her early-morning absences, but seems to encourage her popularity, buying her clothes and treating her as a grownup. Gradually, hooking up with boys becomes a need, a way to bolster her faltering sense of self-worth. A litany of dreary sex acts follows with young men she doesn't particularly like and who don't like her, regardless of STD scares and a college rape. The painter mother of one of her boyfriends does initiate her into more intellectual pursuits, awakening a redemptive desire to become a writer. Cohen's memoir of a lost childhood is commendably honest and frequently excruciating to read. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story will be familiar to many women, most of whom won't want to admit it." -- _Janice Erlbaum, author of _Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir "Cohen's clear-eyed, evocative, and engaging voice draws you into this harrowing story, into the heart of her addiction." -- _Alison Smith, _Name All the Animals For everyone who was that girl. For everyone who knew that girl. For everyone who wondered who that girl was. Kerry Cohen is eleven years old when she recognizes the power of her body 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 knows she shouldn't take. Kerry wanted attention. She wanted love. But not really understanding what love was, not really knowing how to get it, she reached for sex instead.Loose Girl is Kerry Cohen's captivating memoir about her descent into promiscuity and how she gradually found her way toward real intimacy. The story of addiction -- not just to sex, but to male attention -- Loose Girl is also the story of a young girl who came to believe that boys and men could give her life meaning. It didn't matter who he was. It was their movement that mattered, their being together. And for a while, that was enough. From the early rush of exploration to the day she learned to quiet the desperation and allow herself to love and 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 a girl tries to control a boy by handing over her body, when the touch of that boy seems to offer proof of something, but ultimately delivers little more than emptiness. Kerry Cohen's journey from that hopeless place to her current confident and fulfilled existence is a cautionary tale and a revelation for girls young and old. The unforgettable memoir of one young woman who desperately wanted to matter, Loose Girl will speak to countless others with its compassion, understanding, and love. For everyone who was that girl. For everyone who knew that girl. For everyone who wondered who that girl was. Kerry Cohen is eleven years old when she recognizes the power of her body 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 knows she shouldn't take. Kerry wanted attention. She wanted love. But not really understanding what love was, not really knowing how to get it, she reached for sex instead. Loose Girl is Kerry Cohen's captivating memoir about her descent into promiscuity and how she gradually found her way toward real intimacy. The story of addiction--not just to sex, but to male attention-- Loose Girl is also the story of a young girl who came to believe that boys and men could give her life meaning. It didn't matter who he was. It was their movement that mattered, their being together. And for a while, that was enough. From the early rush of exploration to the day she learned to quiet the desperation and allow herself to love and 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 a girl tries to control a boy by handing over her body, when the touch of that boy seems to offer proof of something, but ultimately delivers little more than emptiness. Kerry Cohen's journey from that hopeless place to her current confident and fulfilled existence is a cautionary tale and a revelation for girls young and old. The unforgettable memoir of one young woman who desperately wanted to matter, Loose Girl will speak to countless others with its compassion, understanding, and love. While there can be clean beginnings, true endings are so much more elusive. Redemption isn't in endings, anyway. It comes from authentic consciousness, from living more fully and honestly inside our story, and making it a story worth having lived. --from the Introduction For everyone who was that girl. Loose Girl is Kerry Cohen's captivating memoir about her descent into promiscuity and how she gradually found her way toward real intimacy. The story of addiction—not just to sex, but to male attention—Loose Girl is also the story of a young woman who came to believe that boys and men could give her life meaning. For everyone who knew that girl. In rich and immediate detail, Loose Girl re-creates what it feels like to be in that desperate moment, when a you try to control someone by handing over your body, when the touch of that person seems to offer proof of something, but ultimately delivers little more than emptiness. Kerry Cohen's journey from that hopeless place to her current confident and fulfilled existence is an unforgettable memoir of one young woman who desperately wanted to matter, and speaks to countless others with its compassion, understanding, and love. For the thousands of people who have found their voice in this book, and the thousands more who will. Kerry Cohen was eleven years old when she recognized the power of her body in the leer of a grown man. Her parents were recently divorced and it didn't take long before their lassitude and Kerry's desire to stand out--to be memorable in some way--combined to lead her down a path she knew she shouldn't take. She wanted love--but not really understanding what love was, not really knowing how to get it, she reached for sex instead. This story of addiction--not just to sex, but to male attention--is also the story of a young girl who came to believe that boys and men--it didn't matter who--could give her life meaning. Her journey from that hopeless place to her current confident and fulfilled existence is a cautionary tale, and a revelation.--From publisher description Kerry Cohen’s extraordinary memoir tells it like it is—she’s a teenager like any other, dealing with parents, school, and friends, but for some reason, “standing out” seems to have become almost impossible. Boys—and men—are a different matter altogether, and young Kerry soon realizes that, with the right clothes and attitude, she can get all the male attention she wants. What she doesn’t realize is how easy it is to get more than you’re ready for.In rich, engaging detail, LOOSE GIRL discovers what it’s like to live for sex. Looking back on her girlhood, Kerry Cohen remembers how it felt to be in that desperate moment, and why it’s so important to come to terms with it—moving forward with confidence and strength. Traces The Author's Early Descent Into Promiscuity In The Aftermath Of Her Parents' Divorce, Her Struggles With An Addiction To Both Sex And Male Attention, And Her Later Efforts To Stop Making Desperate Choices In Order To Allow Love Into Her Life. 60,000 First Printing.