Dear Reader,
I struggled for some time with whether I wanted to include a letter at the end of this book explaining the rape scene in Chapter Twenty. I understand that some readers will have strong (even angry) reactions to Brooke’s orgasm, and decided it was necessary to explain my research on involuntary orgasms during rape. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot, and what’s there is conflicting. Many speculate that this is because women are ashamed to admit it. As the nurse explains to Brooke, women feel like it questions the validity of their rapes or demonstrates their desire to be raped. That’s why in the little bit of research I did find, statistics show anywhere from five to 21 percent of women experience orgasm during rape. That’s a wide range.
I understand that this is a controversial topic. I’ve read arguments that involuntary orgasms are bogus, and that women must be emotionally invested in the sex in order to achieve orgasm. I’ve read psychiatrists’ arguments that involuntary orgasm during rape occurs because of women’s millions-of-years-old genetic dispositions to want to be dominated. I’ve read literature by MD’s explaining that the part of the brain that triggers orgasms is the part that controls involuntary responses, so orgasms can actually occur apart from a woman’s will. Drugs, hypersensitive G-spots, adrenaline, and fear have all been argued in aiding involuntary orgasms. Personally, I will always trust science over speculation, and science argues the validity of involuntary orgasms.
I encourage you to do your own research on the subject, but I decided to include orgasm during rape in my book because it’s not talked about, and I think it needs to be. I hesitate to say that I included it to teach you something. I told my editor that I never set out to tell a story that teaches a lesson, because stories, by their inherent nature, will teach a lesson anyway. It’s the lesson you, as the reader, decide to learn; not the one I’m shoving down your throat.
I really do not encourage any rape or sexual assault victims to read this book, but if you have and you need help, please talk to someone. The Rape Crisis Center hotline is open 24 hours a day: 210.349.7273. Do not be silent like the characters in my book. Talk. Seek help. Start to heal.
Love,
Summer
About the Author
S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). When she's not writing, she's thinking about it.