Dirty Diamonds- (Book overview for inside dust cover leaves)"Victoria Valentino, Playboy's Miss September 1963, one of the Top 100Centerfolds of the 20th Century's memoir, Dirty Diamonds takes you inside her transformative journey as one of the most media-visible Bill Cosby survivors.We join her throughout the trials and his release; the Sisterhood formed and itsinspirational solidarity opening the floodgates of the #MeToo Movement. In2014 she first publicly revealed her secret encounter with Bill Cosby and began an unexpected journey of speaking truth to power, changing laws that would impact rape culture in our society as we know it. She reflects on her childhood of domestic abuse, sexual assault and multiple rapes of both body and soul, to her celebrity as a Playboy Centerfold and Bunny in the first Playboy Club on the Sunset Strip. While it is celebrity driven, her subsequent sex trafficking horror, abuse and her journey of healing throughout the rebellious Sixties during the Viet Nam War, the Civil Rights movement, the Hippy movement, protesting, acting, dancing, songwriting, folksinging as a single young mother of a racially mixed son brailling her way through prejudice and rejection is a step back into iconic times. On the verge of a successful record deal, she suffered the unspeakable devastation of her little son's death followed within weeks by Cosby's assault. Her survival in itself is astonishing but her determination to notonly survive but to thrive and find deeper meaning in the tragedies of her life isnothing short of remarkable. It is inspirational. This is a woman's journey from objectification to self-actualization. Victoria has taken her tragedies andrepurposed her life through many trials and incarnations finding lessons of wisdom to impart along the way. Throughout her nine years of sexual assaultactivism Victoria has become a muse for many; a recognized public speaker and advocate for change in our culture. She charges us with the responsibility ofstanding tall, "Chin up! Shoulders back!" and speaking our own truths, following our own Yellow Brick Road home to our authentic selves. Victoriaasks of us all, the never-ending question, "What is the worth of a woman?"
