I am struck by this powerful and deeply moving book.
-- Donal Dorr * Act To Prevent Trafficking *
It's not often that a book makes you re-think your beliefs, but Rachel Moran's thought-provoking memoir, Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution, does just that.
-- Jennifer May * Ireland's Big Issue *
No amount of sugar-coating can sweeten this story up. Rachel Moran's matter-of-fact memoir, Paid For. My Journey Through Prostitution, is shocking, sordid and desperately sad. Painful to write, painful to relive and at times painful to read it is, however, as absorbing and enlightening insight into the darkest and indeed most perverted corners of Irish society.
* VIP Magazine *
Rachel Moran's brave account of her seven years as a prostitute is harrowing reading, but it also shines with compassion and humanity.
Rachel Moran's extraordinary book lays bare the seven years she spent as a prostitute. It took her more than a decade to write, looking back with clear eyes into the hell from which she had escaped. A blend of political analysis and memoir, this is at once an indictment of Ireland's tolerance of violent sexual enslavement and a remarkable woman's celebration of the survival of body, soul and passionate sexuality. It is a book about brutality by a writer of great sensitivity.
-- Susan McKay * The Irish Times *
To suggest the basic facts of Moran's story make Paid For merely a seedy coming-of-age tale would be to do the book and Moran an injustice, because the book is a profoundly political as well as personal account of the sex-trafficking industry. (...) It seems fitting that Paid For is already a bestseller in Ireland, as it brings humanity and visibility to an industry that is often depersonalised, glamorised or merely ignored.
-- Sara Keating * Sunday Business Post Magazine *
A searingly honest account of a young woman's life as a prostitute in Ireland
-- Nicky Sullivan * Evening Echo *
'Rachel knows the truth about prostitution and deserves praise for going public in the interest of other girls and women.'
-- Colette Sheridan * Evening Echo *
'Paid For is no titillating call-girl memoir perpetuating the popular myth of The Happy Hooker, the Pretty Woman redemption, the sexy student enriching her future by being prostituted to pay for her education. Now she wants men who use prostitutes to be named and shamed.'
-- Kate Holmquist * The Irish Times *
'It is neither a misery memoir where Rachel describes in lurid detail her childhood and experiences as a prostitute, nor is it a Pretty Woman style glamourisation of prostitution. It is scholarly, well written, articulate and while it is often difficult to read, it is certainly worthwhile'
* Alex Donald's Multiverse *
'You're an inspiration from girl to girl'
-- Sinead Desmond, Ireland AM
'It is a story which will shock, maybe even horrify - on a subject which society does its best to avoid'
-- Jason O'Toole * Irish Daily Mail *
'Paid For also gives an understanding of the myths and misconceptions versus the real world of prostitution and adds an insider view on the legalisation and decriminalisation of prostitution.'
* Irish Books Direct *
'A brave woman steps out from Ireland's dark side and gives a clear-eyed account of the violence that is prostitution.'
-- Susan McKay
'An unprecedented testimony-brave, powerful and convincing.'
-- Theo Dorgan
