Abstract
When I first saw the erotic novel at the garage sale as a 12-year-old girl, I had no idea that it would lead me down a dark road of addiction to erotica and self-pleasure. But by age 15, I was caught in a pattern of addiction and defeat. I wore a purity ring, didn't date in high school, and grew up without cable television. I was homeschooled, with involved parents. I was the poster girl of the purity movement. Yet secretly I was consumed by sexual shame, and not until college did I finally confess my sexual struggle to someone. Sadly, my story is not unique.