Book Review: Nobody's Baby

 I read, and finished, Virginia Giuffre's autobiography, Nobody's Girl,  during our (planned) power outage. It is a powerful memoir. While the survivor victims, survivor sisters, as they call themselves, have had their demands answered, I don't know what will happen now. We were talking and Joe says Chump is 'Teflon Man,' and I am sure they've protected him. At least the victims must get some sense of relief that their stories are out there, and there is much support for the horrific actions of these perpetrators.

It is Sexual Trafficking 101, to quote some I heard talking about her own experiences.

Giuffre is pronounced JUE-FREY
Leavitt and other Republicans can't seem to,
or refuse to pronounce it properly.

 The cover ups, the deceit, the lies, the intimidation, the grooming that keep these women in slavery is shocking. I wanted to bear witness. Virginia was very brave to put down on paper the means by which she, a vulnerable child, was sexually abused by her father and a family friend at age 8. Her specific story shines a light on people who operate in the dark. Her author collaborator, Amy Wallace, worked on verifying facts and data. 

Protected by power, influence, and money, these billionaires prey on vulnerable teens. Teens who have run away from abuse (like Virginia), are homeless, and suffering. The predators lure the victims, bribe them, bring them into their tribe, where they are then helpless to escape. There were orgies, and an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage. The poor women. These men don't wear condoms. 

The beginning of the book is caught up with the Herstory of Virginia's shabby life. It has threads of her escape from poverty and paternal sexual abuse, to where she finally breaks free from Epstein and Maxwell, and goes to live in Australia with her husband, Robbie Giuffre. She gave birth to three children.

While we keep reading, talking, and writing about '*The Epstein Files,'  it's not just a list of perpetrators and victims. Virginia explains that Epstein and Maxwell's homes contained videotapes, files, airplane logs, large nude portraits of all of the young girls he abused (1000s) that lined the hallways of his 6 homes. They blackmailed the rich and powerful, and trafficked the weak. He kept getting rid of them as they aged out.

 Sadly, once things began to unravel, Virginia was threatened in Australia. They hunt these victims down and get people to harass them to prevent them from speaking of the abuse. A car tailed her, sitting in the dark, with headlights glaring in her front windows. Many victims have no where to go. Virginia found a new life, but was haunted by threats, as well as her nightmares and flashbacks. 

 A Canadian victim (Jessica Baker) of rape said: 

"My life as I knew it was stolen from me and shattered beyond recognition. The assault took away my worth, my privacy, my body, my confidence and my voice."

It's not your fault. It's OK to speak out. Speak truth to power. Virginia has reclaimed her story.

*The Epstein files are massive. When he was arrested, federal agents found a safe with 48 loose diamonds, $70,000 in cash, 3 fake passports: for US, Israel, Austria. A financial disclosure Epstein wrote estimated his net worth as $559,120,954, 6 properties around the world, stocks, equities, and $57 million in cash. 

• BBC reviewed the book
• Wiki has a good summary of the book
• There is some belief that Robbie, her husband, abused her (gift link, NYTimes), as well, but that is before the courts.  
  
  

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 Breaking Idol | Films - CBC Gem 

Billie Eilish asked an important question: "If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?" There are FIVE ways to accumulate a billion dollars: 1) Profiting from a monopoly 2) Insider-trading 3) Political payoffs 4) Fraud 5) Inheritance Billionaires are the result of a failed system.