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A Someday Courtesan: Memoir Stories
**WINNER! 2023 LOS ANGELES BOOK FESTIVAL for Memoir**
**RUNNER UP 2023 LONDON BOOK FESTIVAL for Memoir**
“ What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“A prostitute!” said no girl ever. Decades into her life as a secret courtesan, Sephe Haven is asking herself, how did this become my life? Why did this slipper fit? A Someday Courtesan is the coming-of-age story of a sensitive, whimsical girl, with an abundant curiosity about everything from the power of touch to reincarnation. Determined to live an extraordinary life, Sephe seeks a path out of ordinary suburbia into the world of Acting and True Love. When her flirtatious superpower leads her into a den of wolves, she must learn to differentiate her allies from the wolves that will devour her, leading her to wonder, why is punishment the reaction to her sexuality? How did this girl with enormous dreams end up as an escort? Sephe Haven’s mesmerizing account reveals the wide-reaching societal impacts on girlhood development. And by following an escort’s intriguing journey to truly discover her identity, you’ll soon be laughing and crying with every moving and rarely told tale. A Someday Courtesan is a poignant memoir split into two parts. If you like relatable characters, emotional highs and lows, and unique stories, then you’ll adore Sephe Haven’s whirlwind coming-of-age chronicles. From the author of the captivating, five-star rated My Whorizontal An Escort’s Tale , comes the A Someday Courtesan is the devastatingly honest account of what it means to grow up ‘girl’ in America.
**RUNNER UP 2023 LONDON BOOK FESTIVAL for Memoir**
“ What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“A prostitute!” said no girl ever. Decades into her life as a secret courtesan, Sephe Haven is asking herself, how did this become my life? Why did this slipper fit? A Someday Courtesan is the coming-of-age story of a sensitive, whimsical girl, with an abundant curiosity about everything from the power of touch to reincarnation. Determined to live an extraordinary life, Sephe seeks a path out of ordinary suburbia into the world of Acting and True Love. When her flirtatious superpower leads her into a den of wolves, she must learn to differentiate her allies from the wolves that will devour her, leading her to wonder, why is punishment the reaction to her sexuality? How did this girl with enormous dreams end up as an escort? Sephe Haven’s mesmerizing account reveals the wide-reaching societal impacts on girlhood development. And by following an escort’s intriguing journey to truly discover her identity, you’ll soon be laughing and crying with every moving and rarely told tale. A Someday Courtesan is a poignant memoir split into two parts. If you like relatable characters, emotional highs and lows, and unique stories, then you’ll adore Sephe Haven’s whirlwind coming-of-age chronicles. From the author of the captivating, five-star rated My Whorizontal An Escort’s Tale , comes the A Someday Courtesan is the devastatingly honest account of what it means to grow up ‘girl’ in America.
506 pages, Paperback
Published April 22, 2022
About the author
Sephe Haven
3 books20 followersSephe Haven, (author/storyteller/speaker) is a Juilliard Drama Graduate who spent years on the road performing on stages across America. She is the author of two award-winning memoirs: My Whorizontal Life and A Someday Courtesan. She was both playwright and actor in the solo show: My Whorizontal Life: The Play!, filmed in Chicago at The Greenhouse Theater.
She is the podcast co-host on two podcasts.
And, she is the former #1 Escort in the country.
Writing about her past escort experiences, she hopes to transport readers into the surprising, fascinating, funny, wild, misunderstood, mis-imagined and oft-maligned life underground and give an authentic voice to those doing the work of love and pleasure.
Currently, she’s writing the sequels in her memoir series as well as a limited TV series based on her play. You can find her on her website of the same name dot com.
She is the podcast co-host on two podcasts.
And, she is the former #1 Escort in the country.
Writing about her past escort experiences, she hopes to transport readers into the surprising, fascinating, funny, wild, misunderstood, mis-imagined and oft-maligned life underground and give an authentic voice to those doing the work of love and pleasure.
Currently, she’s writing the sequels in her memoir series as well as a limited TV series based on her play. You can find her on her website of the same name dot com.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 30, 2022
A Someday Courtesan is not your usual girl's coming-of-age story. This frank, refreshing, and unsettling memoir dives deep into a question most such tales treat as a tangent: how does an American girl grow into her sexuality when the subject is taboo? Sephe Haven's wide-eyed journey from grade-school through college travels a maze we woman all recognize but rarely speak.
Haven's story is often hilarious in its look at girlhood naïveté fed by society's dysfunctional combo of silence and obsession about sex. It's also poignant in its frankness about the predatory behavior women endure in secret for fear of being blamed rather than protected. It's incendiary in asserting that a girl's journey to adulthood is so dangerous because male sexual dominance is assumed as a natural privilege while female sexuality is assumed as perverse or submissive.
Through it all, Sephe Haven's hope burns bright: hope for a kinder world in which a girl might be allowed to express all of herself, including her sexual self, without retribution or victimization. Her story is both deeply private and potentially revolutionary, if readers dare to let it in...and let it out.
Haven's story is often hilarious in its look at girlhood naïveté fed by society's dysfunctional combo of silence and obsession about sex. It's also poignant in its frankness about the predatory behavior women endure in secret for fear of being blamed rather than protected. It's incendiary in asserting that a girl's journey to adulthood is so dangerous because male sexual dominance is assumed as a natural privilege while female sexuality is assumed as perverse or submissive.
Through it all, Sephe Haven's hope burns bright: hope for a kinder world in which a girl might be allowed to express all of herself, including her sexual self, without retribution or victimization. Her story is both deeply private and potentially revolutionary, if readers dare to let it in...and let it out.
September 20, 2022
Another riveting read from author Sephe Haven, this time a prequel to My Whorizontal Life, but this time for another reason as she examines the early years of the life that led up to the whorizontal one.
It’s a difficult life, which the author characterises in the epilogue as about what it meant ‘to grow up female in America,’ as in ‘Please men and doors open.’ For me, that definition needs to be widened, as I was born and grew up in the UK, and much of what happened to the writer of this honest memoire resonated with me. In a more general sense, I hasten to add, as I was lucky and avoided the really painful experiences—in both physical and mental senses—which happened to her. But growing up being encouraged to hide your authentic self, force yourself into the mould which society had prepared for you, do as you’re told and pass your time in ‘wholesome’ pursuits while you prepare to ‘get a man’? Been there, done it, but done it my own way, and survived, even through my own version of getting the ‘wrong trousers’ as a present—in my case it was the ‘wrong cardigan’ though.
There’s pain in going your own way though, and the author doesn’t flinch from showing this. It may have been cool for girls to talk amongst themselves about sexual freedom back then, but woe betide any of them that actually did so—the previous ‘friends’ may well distance themselves, and in the most heartless fashion, in fear of getting ‘tarred with the same brush’. And if you couldn’t trust them, how could you trust the opposite sex, so many of whom were out there waiting to take advantage of your trusting naïveté?
A brave book, in which the author doesn’t flinch from putting it all out there. Respect.
It’s a difficult life, which the author characterises in the epilogue as about what it meant ‘to grow up female in America,’ as in ‘Please men and doors open.’ For me, that definition needs to be widened, as I was born and grew up in the UK, and much of what happened to the writer of this honest memoire resonated with me. In a more general sense, I hasten to add, as I was lucky and avoided the really painful experiences—in both physical and mental senses—which happened to her. But growing up being encouraged to hide your authentic self, force yourself into the mould which society had prepared for you, do as you’re told and pass your time in ‘wholesome’ pursuits while you prepare to ‘get a man’? Been there, done it, but done it my own way, and survived, even through my own version of getting the ‘wrong trousers’ as a present—in my case it was the ‘wrong cardigan’ though.
There’s pain in going your own way though, and the author doesn’t flinch from showing this. It may have been cool for girls to talk amongst themselves about sexual freedom back then, but woe betide any of them that actually did so—the previous ‘friends’ may well distance themselves, and in the most heartless fashion, in fear of getting ‘tarred with the same brush’. And if you couldn’t trust them, how could you trust the opposite sex, so many of whom were out there waiting to take advantage of your trusting naïveté?
A brave book, in which the author doesn’t flinch from putting it all out there. Respect.
June 27, 2024
This is the second book in a multi-volume autobiography (My Whorizontal Life) of Ms. Haven who spent 10 years working as an escort. The first explored her introduction to the world of prostitution, and this, deals with her childhood up to her first years in college. The setting of the stage so to speak. Her later occupation aside, she gives an intimate look at growing up female in a patriarchal world. It is sometimes stark, very emotional, and often sad. She states in the epilogue: “Lots of girls had girlhoods like mine. Very few grew up to be escorts.” She is openly describing what the #MeTo movement was and is all about. I recommend this book to all. Yes Virginia, even hookers are feminists.
May 10, 2022
So many Thoughts, Images and Emotions…
Sephe is an amazing writer and storyteller. Reading this book is like being in the passenger seat – right next to her – and getting to experience first-hand the thoughts, emotions and images of her incredible life’s journey. Sephe has a magical way of putting words together to make you feel what is happening to her. I felt sad, happy, amused and worried - sometimes all within one story. Her writing style makes this book easy to consume – you won’t want to put it down.
In the end – I think this story is about Innocence, Determination and Love – it is a genuine story written with candor and honesty.
Sephe is an amazing writer and storyteller. Reading this book is like being in the passenger seat – right next to her – and getting to experience first-hand the thoughts, emotions and images of her incredible life’s journey. Sephe has a magical way of putting words together to make you feel what is happening to her. I felt sad, happy, amused and worried - sometimes all within one story. Her writing style makes this book easy to consume – you won’t want to put it down.
In the end – I think this story is about Innocence, Determination and Love – it is a genuine story written with candor and honesty.
December 6, 2024
This book is marvelous!
Beautifully and thoughtfully written.
This is an incredibly account of her life growing up. A coming of age story that is so brazen and honest you can't help but be completely engaged.
It's real life, relatable and a great reminder for women about how far we have progressed since the old days.
I won't divulge the details of the book here, but I will say that if you like a good memoir, great storytelling and appreciate a story about a woman figuring out how to grab life by the horns, then this story will not disappoint you.
Beautifully and thoughtfully written.
This is an incredibly account of her life growing up. A coming of age story that is so brazen and honest you can't help but be completely engaged.
It's real life, relatable and a great reminder for women about how far we have progressed since the old days.
I won't divulge the details of the book here, but I will say that if you like a good memoir, great storytelling and appreciate a story about a woman figuring out how to grab life by the horns, then this story will not disappoint you.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews