The Pleasures All Mine

December 12, 2005
The sweet-natured daughter of a teacher and school principal, Kelly is initially an unlikely player in the sadomasochism realm, more like a journalist reporting on an underground scene. But in relaying her love of paddling, spanking and caning, Kelly emerges as a true submissive, not just an observer. Her journey—and it's a fascinating one—begins when she takes a weekend job as a professional submissive in a "private dungeon." Pent-up with sexual frustration after a breakup with her first master, she's by turns ravenous for punishment and nervous from inexperience. Eventually, she decides to work independently, a rare strategy for a submissive, more common for a dominatrix. With wit and enthrallment, Kelly details encounters that involve various kinky preferences by both her clients and herself, and balances questions of self-worth with scenes of being tied up and whipped. Although the book is predominantly a memoir of Kelly's foray into the kink world, it's also a manifesto about one woman's joy in sex work. Some clients do provoke a creeping dread, but nothing untoward happens to dampen the "pro sub's" enthusiasm, and ultimately Kelly provides a compelling tale of letting go, finding pleasure and getting paid for it.