Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

An Honest Woman is Charlotte Shane’s memoir about being a sex worker, beginning in her childhood, spanning into her adolescence and first experiences with sex, describing her encounters as a sought-after sex worker in New York City, and later, her relationships with a client and her husband. It’s not told in exactly that order, but I really didn’t mind. Each of Shane’s chapters revealed more about her life—what made her interested in sex work and how she turned this passion into a career, how her childhood influenced her perceptions on sex and love and marriage, and the personal relationships she had with her clients over the years—and showcased her gorgeous writing style, immersing me in nearly every experience that she recalled.

I was initially drawn to this memoir because I’ve been learning a lot about sex work in my Anthropology class this semester, but I stayed for Shane’s transfixing prose and her story. Even though I’m not as experienced as she is—even when she describes her adolescence and her late teens/early twenties—I felt like I was reading some of the stories of my love life. I didn’t think I’d be able to relate entirely to her memoir, but it’s hard not to relate to her words: about feeling like an outsider in her friend groups growing up, feeling stuck in academia and academic circles, feeling like you’re trapped in the narrative that others around you are writing. This part of the memoir is executed flawlessly, and her tone and writing are sharp and poignant, great features in a memoir. However, I flew through the first half, unable to pick up the second half of the book (mostly because I had lots of stress from finals! but also) because it shifted into a concentration on one of her clients, Roger. I liked reading about Roger—this memoir seems to be a case study of Roger, in addition to telling her life story—but I felt that it became very oxymoronic at times. Shane stresses that she is not in love with Roger, not a gold digger, but she dedicates so much time of her book solely describing their relationship.

Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with a sex worker being in love with their client, but I felt that Shane continually defended that she wasn’t in love with Roger, and the defenses ended up weakening her claims. She did not come off as a gold digger to me, because it was obvious that she cared so much for Roger, but I felt that their relationship lost its spark and became lackluster after she continually doubled down that there was no mutual love—even when it doesn’t take a critical reader reading in between the lines to see that both she and Roger were in love with each other. Maybe this is because she is married, but then she only spends a single chapter talking about her husband. This makes sense, because this is a memoir about her life as a sex worker, but I would have loved to read more about her managing both her relationships with her husband and with Roger moreso than I would have liked to read about her and Roger time and time again. I hope I’m not coming off like a hater, because it was super interesting to read about how her relationship with Roger turned from client to close friend, but it dominated the book more than I would have liked.

As far as memoirs go, this is extremely well written, and I would love to read more about Shane’s experiences in the industry. She loves what she does and doesn’t apologize for it, which is so commendable and empowering. I really recommend this memoir if you like memoirs and love learning about the sex work industry.

Reading Charlottes work is like drinking a cold glass of water. She is so honest, bright, and clear. I really enjoyed this memoir, and it read quick. My only qualm is a sense of distance I felt-even in her honesty- from the narrator. She describes others as describing her as mysterious and slightly aloof, and that comes across in the writing. While the story of the john was a useful framing structure for the book, I found myself getting a bit tired of his story. And I felt that the last chapter, which was the only one that really detailed her personal intimate relationship as an adult, felt out of pace with the rest of the book. That being said, her insights on heterosexuality are a true balm to the usual heteropessimistic discourse around straightness. Always looking forward to reading more of her.

A quick, moving and eloquent memoir! I really enjoyed the authors insights on sex work and weaving her personal experiences with larger observations about men, women and society. Although not all of her experiences and conclusions resonated with me, the overall tone was something very approachable and compulsively readable.

My slight critique is the last chapter came on too fast and wrapped up too quickly.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I love sex workers. I love sex workers who write about being sex work. I love being honest about the stereotypes of sex workers.
Deducting a star for heterosexuality. I shouldn't be reading something with that in it in 2024 :/

I enjoyed this book and thought it was well-written, but I wish the author hadn't focused so much on one particular client. I would have liked stories about other clients too. Still, there was enough promise here that I plan on reading the author's other work too.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is a very powerful memoir by C Shane - WOW!
This is a more in depth Memoir of her previous book, Prostitute Laundry.
If you're a memoir reader, ADD THIS ONE TO YOUR TBR!

I really enjoyed Ms. Shane’s perspectives on sex work. There are stereotypes about sex workers at either extreme: In the first scenario, sex workers are all desperate and do that work because they have no other options; in the second, sex workers get into that profession because they really enjoy sex, they’re good at it, and it’s easy for them. On the contrary, Ms. Shane describes an intentional choice to become a sex worker as a young woman despite being inexperienced and finding sex painful and not enjoyable. Desirability is intertwined with power—and it’s natural to want to seek that power, regardless of conventional attractiveness or sexual experience or skills. As Ms. Shane writes of her success in sex work, “It didn’t just feel like being good at a job. It felt like being good at being a woman.” She “wanted to treat sex the way men did, not so much for sexual pleasure but for the pleasure of confirming the self, ego boosting, and entertainment.” I certainly found that relatable, as someone who has sought male attention even while lacking confidence in my own appeal. There’s a lot to relate to in this book regardless of your opinions on love or your sexual history.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.