Making Out Like a Virgin: Sex, Desire & Intimacy After Sexual Trauma (second edition) opens with commentary by Tavia Gilbert, publisher, and award-winning audiobook narrator, offering how this book is even more relevant in the context of the #MeToo movement.

Making Out Like a Virgin: Sex, Desire & Intimacy After Sexual Trauma is a unique and moving collection of personal nonfiction essays that detail how each contributor has moved beyond mere survival of sexual trauma to unapologetically discover a sexually and emotionally thriving life. Not a collection of victim narratives nor a healing-workbook, this book is a bold addition to generations of stories told by survivors. The mission of these writers is not to recount their individual trauma but to detail what has helped them reclaim both their body and sexual desire. ‘Making out like a virgin’ serves as a metaphor, giving permission to sizzle and seize the moment. By telling their stories, they share their strengths and successes found somewhere between the big shifts and small intimate moments, inspiring others while furthering their own healing. The anthology features sixteen contributors–women, men, and transgender– from five countries; ranging in age from their mid-20’s to late 60’s; and, hailing from Dubai, Cairo, Dublin, Toronto, Melbourne, and across the United States. These writers offer their answers to What does it mean to not just survive but to flourish? Is it possible to ever again feel powerful and confident in one’s own body and within relationships? Can someone move beyond being limited or controlled by a tragic event?

Making Out Like a Virgin is the collective power of a community of people who have refused to let the circumstances of their younger selves dictate the course of the rest of their lives. The individuals in this community have found the strength to become sexually and emotionally whole–a healing that transcends gender and orientation.