Featured Book: March 2012
Girls Like Us
Written by Rachel Lloyd
At thirteen, Rachel Lloyd found herself caught up in a world of pain and abuse, struggling to survive as a child with no responsible adults to support her. Vulnerable yet tough, she eventually ended up a victim of commercial sexual exploitation. It took time and incredible resilience, but finally, with the help of a local church community, she broke free of her pimp and her past. Three years later, Lloyd arrived in the United States to work with adult women in the sex industry and soon founded her own non profit – GEMS, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services- to meet the needs of other girls with her history. She also earned her GED and won full scholarships to college and a graduate program. Today Lloyd is executive director of GEMS in New York City and has turned it into one of the nations more groundbreaking non profit organizations. In Girls Like Us Lloyd reveals the dark secretive world of her past in stunning cinematic detail. And, with great humanity, she lovingly shares the stories of the girls whose lives she has helped-small victories that have healed her wounds and made her whole. Revelatory, authentic, and brave, Girls Like Us is an unforgettable memoir
-taken from the book jacket
“Rachel Lloyd astonishing stories of life on the street have an accumulative power that left me reeling. What makes Girls Like Us such an extraordinary achievement is that her storytelling is unflinchingly honest, and yet filled with a profound sense of hope”
– Alex Kotlowitz, author of There are No Children Here and The Other Side of the River
“This book will burn a hole in your heart. The beauty of Rachel Lloyd’s searing memoir is how she exorcises the pain of her own troubled girlhood by connecting with hundreds of young women on a brutal path. The truth and power of her writing take us to a place where common humanity becomes the ultimate healer.”
– Mira Nair, director of Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, and The Namesake
Interested in reading this book? Drop by the AVP office to borrow it, and browse our selection of other amazing books and resources!
-Brianna
