Dealing Flesh (33 page)

Acknowledgements

A big
“Danke Schön”
to fellow writers, artists and friends –Jenny, Julie, Loren, Eric, Patrick, Richard, Bill, Graham, Derek, and everyone who contributed to this work of art, either directly or indirectly.

On the editorial end, I thank Sarajoy Bonebright for copyediting, Abigail Wurdeman for providing some segmental input, and Connie King for proofreading. I also want to acknowledge Deasy Suryani Purba for designing the cover and interior, as well as Neeraj Chandra for preparing the manuscript for digital publishing.

In addition, I am grateful for the brave souls who gave of themselves in the support groups I attended.

Many thanks to Dr. Steve Smith, Suzannah Luna, and Courtney Gwen for their earnest support.

Eternal gratitude to the professors at Glendale College’s Health Sciences division: Orlando Rivera, Marion Price, Benjamin Salazar and Patricia Sanora. I will always cherish the invaluable insight I have attained, studying behavior and addiction on a clinical and scientific level, while attending your state-of-the-art addiction studies certification program.

Finally, thanks to the multitude of self-improvement authors, particularly Dr. Patti Feuereisen, whose book,
Invisible Girls
, I hold very dear as it explains why some girls choose prostitution; as well as Mark B. Kastleman, whose account,
The Drug of the New Millennium
, excellently describes pornography’s impact on the brain. Blessings to all.

Photos Credit

Photo dividing Book I and Book II is by Harrison Funk, Los Angeles

Author photo by Doug Dobransky, Hollywood

All other photos from
www.sxu.hu/or
from the author’s personal collection

About the Author

Birgit Waldschmidt
is the author of the memoir
Dealing Flesh: A Good Girl’s Journey through Sex Addiction and How She Became an Authentic Woman
. This is her first book.

Birgit grew up in the northern region of Germany and, in her mid-twenties, moved to California. She enjoys incorporating her positive as well as negative life experiences into her artistic endeavors, some of which connect to years of ‘dealing flesh’ and laboring in diverse facets of the sex industry. Among the author’s most recent accomplishments is a college Certificate in Behavioral Sciences as a Specialist in Alcohol and Drug Studies, as well as a Certificate in Domestic Violence Advocacy. Her Addiction Studies and support group background have allowed her to coach persons one-on-one and help challenged people, many of them with pasts of drug dealing, gang affiliation and long-term incarceration, to take a step toward the light. She can be reached at
www.msbwaldschmidt.wix.com/authenticexpressions
or
www.msbwaldschmidt.wordpress.com