Overview

"In 1969, shortly after the drowning death of her six-year-old son, Victoria Valentino was raped by Bill Cosby. That's the story everyone wants to hear, but it's not her whole story.When it comes to Cosby, one of the questions she has been asked so often by members of the media is, ""Why did you wait so long to speak up?"" A logical question. After all when your house is robbed or your purse is stolen, you go to the police. Why wouldn't you do the same thing if your body is violated? The answer does not come as naturally as the question.For Victoria, silence was par for the course. Not something she would have questioned. She had been emotionally raped as a child - left feeling bereft and humiliated. She searched for love in the wrong places, leaving herself open and vulnerable to more physical and emotional abuse. All that shame, blame, guilt, and fear came rolled up in one little package. That package was Victoria Valentino. Dirty Diamonds is not just about Victoria's journey - it's a journey countless women have found themselves on. Not one they necessarily chose. But for her, it's been a journey from objectification and victimization to self-actualization: finding her voice at last. Coming of age in the 1960s, Victoria was a Playboy Centerfold, ""Miss September 1963""-objectification for all the world to see. Given who she is now, maybe she wouldn't have taken her clothes off for a magazine, but it happened, and now she embraces it as part of who she is. Her story is a woman's story. A survivor's story. This is not a story about Bill Cosby. He is but a blip on the radar screen of Victoria's life. This is a story of love, the hope of love, and the discovery that maybe we are all we ever really needed."

Full Product Details

9798985803198

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

"Dirty Diamonds- (Book overview for inside dust cover leaves)""Victoria Valentino, Playboy's Miss September 1963, one of the Top 100Centerfolds of the 20th Century's memoir, Dirty Diamonds takes you inside her transformative journey as one of the most media-visible Bill Cosby survivors.We join her throughout the trials and his release; the Sisterhood formed and itsinspirational solidarity opening the floodgates of the #MeToo Movement. In2014 she first publicly revealed her secret encounter with Bill Cosby and began an unexpected journey of speaking truth to power, changing laws that would impact rape culture in our society as we know it. She reflects on her childhood of domestic abuse, sexual assault and multiple rapes of both body and soul, to her celebrity as a Playboy Centerfold and Bunny in the first Playboy Club on the Sunset Strip. While it is celebrity driven, her subsequent sex trafficking horror, abuse and her journey of healing throughout the rebellious Sixties during the Viet Nam War, the Civil Rights movement, the Hippy movement, protesting, acting, dancing, songwriting, folksinging as a single young mother of a racially mixed son brailling her way through prejudice and rejection is a step back into iconic times. On the verge of a successful record deal, she suffered the unspeakable devastation of her little son's death followed within weeks by Cosby's assault. Her survival in itself is astonishing but her determination to notonly survive but to thrive and find deeper meaning in the tragedies of her life isnothing short of remarkable. It is inspirational. This is a woman's journey from objectification to self-actualization. Victoria has taken her tragedies andrepurposed her life through many trials and incarnations finding lessons of wisdom to impart along the way. Throughout her nine years of sexual assaultactivism Victoria has become a muse for many; a recognized public speaker and advocate for change in our culture. She charges us with the responsibility ofstanding tall, ""Chin up! Shoulders back!"" and speaking our own truths, following our own Yellow Brick Road home to our authentic selves. Victoriaasks of us all, the never-ending question, ""What is the worth of a woman?"""

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available