Author Samantha Barrett
says that Memoirs of a Sex Addict was initially written to help heal
herself. It is her sincere hope that it will also benefit others who
have suffered as she has with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a disorder which
led directly to sex addiction and many of the reckless adventures
recorded in this book. For her, BDD was a very rough ride, so some of
the language and emotions in these pages are also rough. It had to be
that way, she says, in order to tell the true story.
The betrayals were
many, including of her husbands, and there was never a shortage of men
willing to take advantage of her. Even a counselor in an inpatient
addiction hospital found her to be easy prey. Of course, the greatest
betrayal was of herself. Some of what she did will come across as wild,
reckless, even self-indulgent, but the common theme with alcohol and
drug addicts is that she couldn’t stop herself.
Dr. Irvin Milowe, MD, and
professor of psychiatry at the University of Miami, calls Memoirs of a
Sex Addict “a very thoughtful trip into an addiction, that also shows
the route out.” And while Ms. Barrett is indeed eager to help others
avoid her plight, she doesn’t hide the details of her excursions.
For Samantha Barrett the
journey into addiction began during her childhood, with being bullied in
the home in what might seem a benign way. “The media,” she says, “has
been telling us about bullies at school and on the internet, but we
rarely hear of bullies living under the same roof. We assume that
parents will prevent anything hurtful to their children. But what if
they are not aware? What may be “harmless teasing” for one child, could
be devastating to another.
A child may be hiding the
pain. I was told that I was ugly, that no man would ever marry me. This
led to a disease called Body Dysmorphic Disorder or BDD, a disease that
distorted the way I saw myself and led me to obsess over flaws that may
not have even be present. We hear tragic stories of drug and alcohol
addiction. My addiction was different. Sex was my “drug of choice.” Only
sex could take away my pain of feeling “ugly.” As soon as a man was on
top of me or giving me attention, I felt beautiful. Often, alcohol went
along with this behavior, but sex was the one I had no control over.
Hopefully, the stories in this book will encourage parents, teachers and
caregivers to be more aware of what is being told to or heard by their
children.”
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Genre – Biographies & Memoirs / Self-Help
Rating – R
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