The new novella by Kay Buckingham, with illustrations by Martha Rosenberg, takes readers back 50 years. It is set in Chicago, but it could have taken place in any big city. Single-line black and white cartoons accompanying the text seem fitting for a narrative by a female hustler on the north side.
The story told by the author is edgy, stark, and not to state the obvious, it occurs well before the advent of the internet or dating apps. In Buckingham's narrative, hookups in real life prevailed (at the singles bar, at parties, etc.) but also at the parking lot or curbside inside a vehicle, at the hustler's or john's apartments, in motel rooms, and at any other physical place that offered privacy. Free love wasn't free after all.
Revealing a certain way of making a living (greenbacks for tricks), Buckingham makes it clear many other individuals of any gender who lived as she did during this time did not survive to tell the tale. Liberal quantities of meth, coke, alcohol, violence, desperation and later, HIV/AIDS paint a backdrop of the early- to mid-1970s in all its seediness.
Buckingham tells of her savvy dive into paid sex work straight, yet a Greek gay (or bisexual) chorus made up of two of her male friends at the time appear as counterpoint in several moments. Light humor, irony and sarcasm dot the pages assisted by Rosenberg's single-line b/w cartoons to unique effect. Overall, this work paints a picture of sex as commodity, that still continues today with OnlyFans albeit at a vast virtual remove.
The protagonist makes it clear that despite her youth, she is very troubled (selling her body, using drugs, not eating, drinking to excess, having an abortion). Her sister makes a brief appearance but is unaware that Buckingham is planning to meet a john right after their cafe meetup. To the reader, its clear that she--the intrepid narrator Buckingham--may be running away from something (she mentions she hasnt spoken with her father in four years)
Sometime (months or years) into her lifestyle, the author gets dosed with some bad blow at a Mafia house and ends up on the side of a highway (though alive, she is inconsolable due to the occurrence). This situation seems like an early turning point for the author.
The real danger: Buckingham starts to have feelings for her johns, in particular one named Keith. Eventually after five chapters there is a resolution of a kind, though not exactly out of a Hollywood film but closer to reality (and not with Keith).
All women, men, and anyone who has an interest in the real effects of sex work could benefit from and relate to reading this book. I learned that while I sympathize with all persons who do this type of work to survive that it is risky beyond belief, and that the use of drugs/alcohol and other unhealthy coping strategies often are necessary to numb out. Kudos to Buckingham for her unflinching portrayal of one womans saga on the streets.
(Article changed on Nov 12, 2025 at 10:07 AM EST)
(Article changed on Nov 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM EST)
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