This is a powerful memoir exploring the depths that addiction can reach and the harm that it can cause. The author is very open and honest about her behavior and actions as she fed her sexual addiction. One of the strengths of the book is that the author is female and is writing about a type of addiction that most people would associate with men. Not only does this hopefully make it easier for other women to confront their own sex addiction, if appropriate, but hopefully her courage in writing this memoir will help others who are struggling with an addiction that is stereotypically associated with a particular gender or ethnic group or socioeconomic status or other category that does not fit the particular addict.

Another strength of the book is that the author acknowledges that she is not "cured." She admits that she still experiences the urges/desires to engage in the self-destructive behavior that defined her life for so many years and she admits that sometimes she slips up and indulges these desires, but she has developed coping skills to both help her deal with and move forward after "falling off the wagon" and keep her from sinking too far back into past unhealthy habits.

While many people might be turned off by the subject matter (or only read it for the salacious content), I think the book is valuable for everyone. Although most people do not have an addiction as time-consuming and destructive as the author's, I think all of us have an addiction of some sorts or are prone to addiction, whether it is sex, drugs, gambling, shopping, food, the computer, exercise, work, spirituality, etc. as a way to compensate for or escape from some aspect of ourselves that we dislike, are ashamed of, fear, etc. We could all benefit from taking a deeper look at ourselves, the things we do/how we spend our time, and whether our actions/behaviors are truly healthy.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book.
I thought it was well written, raw and honest.
I learned a lot about sex addiction and recovery.
I would highly recommend this book to others.

A tell all autobiography of insecurity and addiction. The author hides nothing of her personal thoughts, cravings and feelings of depression and worthlessness. At times it was too much to read.
The book concludes with hope. The author overcomes her insecurity and learns to love instead of seeking affirmation in random sexual encounters.
This book is graphic and is not for the squeamish.

Erica Garza bravely and eloquently takes the reader on a journey through her porn and sex addiction. She declares her vulnerability and shares her path to reconciling herself with herself in a memoir that spares no detail, yet leaves you cheering for her all the way. This is an important report from the battlefield of recovery, and explains one of the more mysterious addictions in a way that begets understanding.

Getting Off tells the story of Erica Garza's descent into sex addiction and her inspiring recovery from it.

The opening of the book is shocking, and paints an unpleasant picture of what the author's life was like when she was in the midst of her addiction to orgasms and pornography. She then revisits her childhood to tell the story of how she got to that point.

Although she faced some physical challenges, Garza had an otherwise pretty normal childhood. Readers will be able to relate to her struggles and insecurities as she navigates the treacherous waters of the high school social scene. She describes candidly how masturbation becomes her salve for emotional hurts. When she leaves her parents' home, she adds one night stands and a series of stormy relationships with men who treat her the way she thinks of herself to the mix. Pornography is a constant as well, and as technology improves, Garza takes solstice in material that is increasingly degrading and graphic.

Eventually she does turn her life around and is now happily married with a child. I wish that she had focused more on this portion of her story. She does describe a retreat, some group therapy, and a couple of healthy relationships with men, but this latter part of the book seemed skimmed over.

Although Garza's story is a difficult one to read, it is engaging and fast-paced. She adds a much-needed female voice to what is sadly a small body of serious works addressing addiction to sex and pornography.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Honest is the big word that I can use to describe this book. Before reading it, I had no idea what having a sex addiction really meant and what it could really do someone who has that affliction. Garza's autobiography is raw and unflinching. It was really painful to read at times when she described how she continued to spiral into an uncontrolled lifestyle and how she ruined all of her relationships, both sexual and others. It opened up some interesting questions about the accessibility of online porn and how that can affect young adults.

What an interesting book! I was not sure what to expect with this book. Being nonfiction and such a serious topic added to it for me. It was very well written and honest. That is very respectable. Would recommend.

Thank your for the ARC of this very interesting book. Erica Garza begins her spiral into porn and sex addiction at the young age of 12 after listening to a late night radio program. I am not sure if her addiction is due to low self-esteem at having to wear a back brace due to scoliosis at that age, or if it was due to jealousy with the addition of a new baby sister at about that time. This is a very interesting account of her course in life with her sex and porn addiction, along with drug use. Ms. Garza is a brilliant writer, went to the best schools and traveled extensively abroad during which time she went from one encounter to the next and one relationship to the next with none of them working. She finally meets a man when she is studying yoga and he does make a difference in her life. This is an excellent account of this sometimes frightening journey and I enjoyed reading about it.

The book is courageous and reveals Garza's story of sex and porn addiction that she put together after multiple articles in magazines that applauded her confrontation with her issues. Garza covers a lot of her normal life, including her relationship with religion and family living in California and Catholic with Latin roots.

It's a balance of biography and the addiction that showcases how dangerous addiction can become regardless of the kind and her footnotes provide a validity and ability to discuss her issues so that others can explore their own. Nothing too titillating or provocative that wasn't what she was dealing with. She kept it from being sensational for the sake of selling books. It was real.

unflinchingly honest portrait of one woman's destructive obsession. not a very pleasant read, but very informative. thanks netgalley

A unique look at an addiction rarely spoken about, especially by a woman. The author does not hold back in her tale of addiction- how she got there, all her lows, etc. Whike you can live without sex, the addiction is more like over eating, where you basically have to live with finding a healthy balance, instead of drugs/ alcohol where abstaining for life can be achieved. The author dies not have s nice, neat path to recovery- and has lapses. Very interesting book, it will start conversations and hopefully help others with an issue with much sigma.

I usually love memoirs and I was very interested in this one but I didn't connect with it unfortunately.

I requested this book from NetGalley, intrigued at first by both the title and the cover. When I initially saw the book, a portion of the image wasn't visible and for the life of me I couldn't make out what the image was intended to be. Judging by the title I figured it would be about sex, a generally taboo subject, and porn. Once I received the advance copy, however, I realized it was meant to be a woman's backside.

Naked, vulnerable, intimate.

And that's exactly what this book is. Garza continually goes on about how hard she tried to keep this secret from everyone, how hard it was for her to finally open up, and yet she gives the readers an inside look to every single feeling of guilt, shame, and fear that took over her life for close to 20 years.

I devoured this book in two sittings. It was incredibly hard to read, I too felt Garza's shame and embarrassment. However, unlike her, I could have turned off my Kindle and stepped away. Reading page after page of horrible decisions, feelings of worthlessness, and emptiness had me wanting to scream at the pages, "Stop doing this to yourself! You are not worthless!"

Destroying relationship after relationship, picking at it until they fell apart, then desperately needing to feel loved, to be validated by whoever would give her the time of day - reading all of this was torturous, cringeworthy, so raw that I had to keep reading for the simple hope that she would eventually stop carrying her shame and get better.

There are so many books out there about strong, courageous women who have defied the odds, discovered their true selves, and have come to love and accept who they are, usually stemming from a broken heart or some traumatic event. This journey while somewhat similar also deals with the severity of an addiction. And yet despite this, her story still feels relatable. Her feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy are quite common, yet hardly ever discussed and not with this openness.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC copy of this book. This is an emotional story about addiction and the struggles that accompany that addiction.

When Erica is 12 years old she experiences porn clips and sex videos along with her first orgasm. From here at that tender young age it consumes her life and for the next two decades we watch her make one bad choice after another. She is self destructive and hurts herself as well as many innocent people along her path.

Erica did not receive my sympathy or empathy as she has from other reviewers of her book. I felt she was privileged, over indulgent, and spoiled, wreaking havoc wherever she went. She was blessed to be able to travel to many wonderful countries. She visited and had extended stays in Bali, Hawaii and Bangkok as well as Southeast Asia where she studied yoga and visited brothels all to try to get to know who she was. (where did the funding for all this traveling come from?) She stayed in denial about her sex addiction even after so many people told her she had a problem and offered help.

Don't get me wrong, I feel for anyone with an addiction; sex addiction being no different than any other. Erica's excuse for becoming a sex addict was when she was 12 she had to wear a back brace which made her an outcast at school. Really???? How many kids are bullied, raped, molested by family members or suffer from severe, lifelong painful disabilities that struggle through their days with optimism?

Erica in my opinion was a confused, privileged, bisexual with a hefty appetite for sex and attention. and is now trying to capitalize on her escapades. If you want to read a book about someone that overcomes adversity, do yourself a favor and read about Jacee Dugard, now that is one amazingly strong person who deserves your time.

I don't think I have ever read a book that was so relatable on so
many different levels.
At times I felt as if the author was actually reading entries from my own journal. Her memories are vivid and raw and I greatly appreciate that she did not hold back in sharing her story. Many of the unworthy feelings she uses to describe herself, the wall she presents against herself, the inadequateness,... it all seemed very familiar. Many of her stories seemed like "another version of my own messy self ."
I was not prepared at how powerful this book was going to impact me & I am greatful for it.

Erica traces her sex addiction back to a moment in time at 12 years old. After that first release, the feelings that immediately followed: curiosity , shame, loneliness & never being satisfied will be her constant companions. Traveling from one country to the other, hoping in & out of one man's bed to the next , & purposely sabatoging each & every relationship she comes across. Erica finally realizes she is worthy of a healthy life. She searches deep inside herself to find her own power and so begins her journey of healing .

This book is very difficult to read. It is honest, true, harsh, heartbreaking and the author was very brave to share her story. It is a well-written book, But what I found uneasy or disturbing was that the content is very upsetting. The pain is very devastating. Perhaps writing the book has helped her more than anything else.

This is a bravely honest memoir from writer Erica Garza about her personal struggle with Sex Addiction. It all began at the tender age of 12 while listening to Loveline, a popular LA radio program hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky and Adam Corolla. A female caller boasted of a fetish for inducing mind-blowing orgasms, achieved by lying in the tub in a certain way under a steady stream from the water faucet. This propelled an obsession for warm baths as a teenager and a way to release pent-up sexual frustration. However, this was just the beginning and tip of the iceberg of Erica's sexual preoccupation through the years.

Erica carried emotional baggage from childhood experiences such as feeling different from having to wear a back brace due to scoliosis. She also felt distant from her father who worked many hours away from home as a mortgage broker. When her Mom announced she was having a baby girl (when Erica was 10), her interest was piqued at the mystery of sex, but she felt even more isolated from her parents' affections. A familiar theme running throughout the book is Erica feeling unworthy of being loved. Instead, she feels like she has to use sex as the primary force in her relationships. When men get close to her emotionally, she always manages to push them away. And when she's alone, she relies upon incessant masturbation inspired by porn from the internet. Following this transient satisfaction, she is disgusted by herself.

There are so many sexual partners...casual, random and serious...throughout the book. Erica desperately tries various therapies, retreats and workshops in search of a cure to her sex addiction. She just wants a healthy relationship with a man and most importantly, to feel good about herself.

Erica previously revealed some of her provocative experiences in magazine articles, but courageously broached the subject full-on in this memoir. While the salacious nature of the book is certainly attention getting, the constant recounting of her sexual escapades had a numbing effect as I was heading towards the end of the book.

This beautiful, and brutally honest memoir, is stirring and hard to put down. Garza is a gorgeous writer. Her prose flows right off of the page, I was impressed by how open Garza is about her past, and addictions. It is both enlightening and interesting. I especially enjoyed reading about her travels, and how exploring the world both helped and hurt her road to recovery.

I could not put this book down! Ms. Garza's account of her struggles with sex and porn addiction were depicted in such a raw and honest way that it made you want to keep reading.

Even though I love to read memoirs, I sometimes have trouble to remain interested, but this was not the case. I highly recommend this book.