First of all, let me stress that I’m not a writer and all of this is very new to me. I have no idea where to begin or end. I can’t ever fi nd the right words. I’m about to divulge my 40 years of hardship. Soap opera material, I know. But every word of it is true. I’m kind of embarrassed about all this. Talk about airing your dirty laundry.

 

Freshly deported to Thailand, Thanadda spent 20 days penning her first manuscript, longhand. Those pages snatched the prestigious Chommanard Book Prize. Three decades earlier, the teenaged Thanadda was still nursing her newborn when she was lured into prostitution. Shipped off to Asia’s most notorious red-light districts, she found herself ensnared in sex, drugs, nightlife, and organized crime. Her account would beggar belief if not for its unflinching candidness. Definitely a voice worth listening to.

 

“Former sex worker, chronic gambler, drug addict, ex-con … [Thanadda] understands the definition of a ‘living hell.’”                              

                                                                                                                                   — MUSE, Bangkok Post
 

WINNER, CHOMMANARD BOOK PRIZE

 

Rights sold: China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam