About the Author

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Reviews

'It's gritty, compelling and at times thoroughly uncomfortable...Holden's candour is brave and despite her battles-or perhaps because of them-you'll find yourself caring about what happens to her.' West Australian 'Ever wondered how ordinary, educated people drift into the underworld of drugs and prostitution?...Kate Holden takes us there with brutal candour and occasional whimsy...for more than just the voyeuristic factor, it's a hard book to put down.' Advertiser '[A] true tale of survival and a brutally vivid and honest account of a trip to the skids and back.' Nine to Five 'In My Skin is...quite simply in a class of its own. Guardian 'Holden's beautifully written account of her descent into hell is uncomfortably honest about the pleasures, as well as the pains, of life in a brothel...Her talents as a prostitute won her a large clientele. So should her talents as a writer.' Independent 'Breathtakingly candid...Achingly honest' Booklist 'A compelling story of love and squalor that retains humanity and sympathy.' Observer

The elevated, poetic language of Aussie writer Holden's debut memoir vibrates with passion as she tells the story of the small victories and great obstacles she encountered as a heroin addict who turned to prostitution as a way of supporting her habit. The middle-class Holden, a carefree, artistic bohemian who scraped by selling books, is introduced to the drug in her early twenties by her boyfriend in the small Australian town of St. Kilda at a time when the grunge band Nirvana reigned and heroin was at the peak of its glamour. Holden finds the strength to recover through the help of her supportive family and, ironically, through her struggle with the very hardships she finally escapes. Her acutely vivid prose is a revelation, even if the subject matter is not. Recommended for all public libraries. [Holden's draft manuscript of this book won the Judy Duffy Award for literary excellence. Ed.] Elizabeth Brinkley, Granite Falls, WA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

'It's gritty, compelling and at times thoroughly uncomfortable...Holden's candour is brave and despite her battles-or perhaps because of them-you'll find yourself caring about what happens to her.' West Australian 'Ever wondered how ordinary, educated people drift into the underworld of drugs and prostitution?...Kate Holden takes us there with brutal candour and occasional whimsy...for more than just the voyeuristic factor, it's a hard book to put down.' Advertiser '[A] true tale of survival and a brutally vivid and honest account of a trip to the skids and back.' Nine to Five 'In My Skin is...quite simply in a class of its own. Guardian 'Holden's beautifully written account of her descent into hell is uncomfortably honest about the pleasures, as well as the pains, of life in a brothel...Her talents as a prostitute won her a large clientele. So should her talents as a writer.' Independent 'Breathtakingly candid...Achingly honest' Booklist 'A compelling story of love and squalor that retains humanity and sympathy.' Observer