Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by
Virginia Roberts Giuffre
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Oh my. This was grueling and hard to read. But necessary. It's disheartening and fills me with rage. VRG was a very brave woman. Her memoir is in 4 parts. Her childhood, her time with Epstein, the acknowledgement that she is a Survivor, and as an activist.
She was an easier target due to her childhood sexual abuse by her father and a friend of his. I appreciated how she acknowledged she found girls for Epstein to abuse once he had his hook in her and the hard spot she was in. She, like every single person, was flawed, did things they knew to be wrong, and acknowledged that. I think people forget that Survivors go through various stages (and regress at times too) when coping & dealing with the trauma. She bravely escaped when she had an opportunity.
I also appreciate she points out the criticism she and other Survivors received when discussing settlements received by Epstein (and later his estate after his arrest and death).
"The DOJ-not Epstein's victims- made the secret deal that ultimately let Epstein off the hook in 2008 (Alex Acosta)...We were also told that extracting money from him was the only way to punish him...But here's the real reason I'm angry at those who judge victims who settle: all that legalese in our lawsuits about pain and suffering and mental anguish- those things are real. And getting treatment for them costs money." She wrote about her attempted suicides (twice) in 2022 and it is heartbreaking that she was successful earlier this year (April 2025).
"And my mental health has faltered at times too- as it may continue to falter for the rest of my life." Let's not forget the other (as of now unnamed) rich men who are free and living their lives like they did nothing wrong. Unpunished. Unrepentant.
And let's not forget Ghislaine Maxwell. Moved to a low security comfortable prison where she enjoys special privileges. What the fuck? Let's not forget she wants trump to commute her sentence or a pardon.
"If you've read this far, I hope my story has moved you-to seek ways to free yourself from a bad situation, say, to stand up for someone else in need, or to simply reframe how you judge victims of sexual abuse."
Snow Place Like Home by Laura Pavlov
