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Sinner Takes All: A Memoir of Love and Porn
How does a girl go from being a shy, awkward bookworm to the biggest porn star in the world? In Sinner Takes All, Tera Patrick reveals all, her career as an international model; losing her virginity at fourteen to a thirtysomething photographer; learning oral sex techniques backstage at a Guns N' Roses concert; having an orgy with a team of firefighters; her unglamorous job in a nursing home; her first forays into the adult movie business; and how, with her husband's help, she launched her own multimillion-dollar empire.
Along the way, she dishes on the emotional side of being Tera Patrick, writing candidly about her battles with depression and anxiety. She also discusses finding true love and building a healthy marriage, achievements that many consider to be impossible in the world of porn. Featuring hundreds of photos, plus diary pages and scintillating sidebars, Sinner Takes All takes the tell-all to raunchy new heights.
Along the way, she dishes on the emotional side of being Tera Patrick, writing candidly about her battles with depression and anxiety. She also discusses finding true love and building a healthy marriage, achievements that many consider to be impossible in the world of porn. Featuring hundreds of photos, plus diary pages and scintillating sidebars, Sinner Takes All takes the tell-all to raunchy new heights.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 18, 2009
About the author
Tera Patrick
3 books9 followersTera Patrick is an actress in and producer of pornographic movies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
May 19, 2011
In case, some of you doesn't know, Tera Patrick is one of the biggest porn star of our time. I will not be a hypocrite, yes I know of porn and porn stars, I have more guy friends than girlfriends and the girlfriends that I have (and me) are not prejudice to porn, it is per se, a very graphic form of adult entertainment. Anyway, I am not here for that. I am here to review Tera Patrick's account of her life.
Now, I know when we hear of the term porn star, we immediately associate this with someone who was abused sexually when they were young, daddy issue, to support a drug habit, for the money, or what not. That may be the case for most, but for Tera, she said she just loves sex and the money is just an added incentive. And yes as I read through the book, that is exactly what I saw. A women who knows what she wants and did not regret it. Sure there were negative attributions that came in with the profession. The tell all tale is really what it is. A story from her childhood, her young and brief modeling job overseas, her first time, and her many sexual adventures, and all her life problems. As memoir goes, this is the first that I cannot put down. Usually at the middle a life story would offer some boring nondescript details but hers was riveting till the end. I would love to meet her. She was a strong person with a good sense of humor. it was really more than what I expected.
Now, I know when we hear of the term porn star, we immediately associate this with someone who was abused sexually when they were young, daddy issue, to support a drug habit, for the money, or what not. That may be the case for most, but for Tera, she said she just loves sex and the money is just an added incentive. And yes as I read through the book, that is exactly what I saw. A women who knows what she wants and did not regret it. Sure there were negative attributions that came in with the profession. The tell all tale is really what it is. A story from her childhood, her young and brief modeling job overseas, her first time, and her many sexual adventures, and all her life problems. As memoir goes, this is the first that I cannot put down. Usually at the middle a life story would offer some boring nondescript details but hers was riveting till the end. I would love to meet her. She was a strong person with a good sense of humor. it was really more than what I expected.
May 28, 2012
Well I thought I liked Tera Patrick...turns out I just like looking at her naked. It boggles my mind that this book was ghost written because it's so poorly constructed it could have easily been penned by her hand. I don't expect quality literature from a porn star but I thought I would be entertained. This book annoyed me. In the beginning the passive aggressive back pedaling is what bothered me..."Oh my mom almost choked me to death and we didn't speak for 16 years......3 paragraphs later...."but you know she was really stressed and I'm so happy we have our relationship back!" By the time I got to the middle of the book where she and her (now ex) husband Evan start writing chapters back and forth I thought, "What insufferable twits these two are." And then just overall I felt annoyed because the whole thing feels so inauthentic. She used this book to trash her ex boyfriend, to mildly bad mouth Jenna Jameson, to talk about how much she LOVES LOVES LOVES men and cock and getting fucked every which way (in case you missed how hetero she is she explicity states at some point "It's cock that gets me off, not pussy") and to go on at length about what a KING Evan is in the sack. I don't judge Tera for being in the adult industry, I judge her for drowning out her own voice to write this "autobiography" that appears to exist for the sole purpose of pissing off Jenna Jameson and giving Evan some spank bank material. The upside is this book is picture heavy and she is incredibly beautiful, so there's that.
October 2, 2011
I don't apologise for, but neither can I explain, my weird obsession with porn star autobiographies. (The 'auto-' is indicative only because there are *always* ghosts in these machines. What bothers me though is how similar they are, not terribly well-written, and a weird kind of thematic schizoia that affects them, going from the cold hard and often abusive facts to effusive "Being a porn actress is the best thing a woman could possibly do" affirmations. There is mental illness,(always), addiction (varies), and a brief mediation on what might have led them to this fairly unorthodox career path. But you never really feel that you've gotten into the heads of these women, as though they're so used to faking it that reality seems a tricksy and maybe pointless proposition. Tera Patrick's 'Sinner Takes All' ticks all of these boxes, along with many pretty photos, but we never meet the real "Linda" - well, maybe she appears very briefly in the final tacked-on chapter about her divorce. Having spent the previous five chapters on how wonderful her husband was, and how there was NO WAY he was using her to get into porn, the last chapter had a kind of coyness to it that made the story bittersweet. WE could all see what was happening, but for a celebrity living so far outside the 'normal' world, she couldn't. Still one of the better ones, and Tera even comes across a somewhat likeable, which is very rare in these (auto)bios.
January 15, 2010
Is something inherently degrading, even if the person it's happened to doesn't think so? Does all pornography objectify all women, even if Tera Patrick thinks she's had a great career & a great life? Can we trust her to make that judgment even though sketchy sexual events in her childhood may have warped her perspective? I suppose ultimately I'll believe her if she thinks that things have turned out the way she wanted them to; admittedly, I just skimmed this book, so perhaps I missed some crucial piece of evidence that showed that deep down she felt cheated or abused. The overall tone seemed to be one of satisfaction (other than the whole husband used her to get into porn thing).
March 8, 2010
I cannot help my fascination with porn stars. This book is just a shade under Jenna Jameson's How to Make Love Like a Porn Star in overall quality and there you have Tera Patrick in a nutshell, I guess. Second only to Jenna Jameson in the porn industry, worldwide.
Her candor about her firsts in the business, her relationships and particularly the money she earned and spent and negotiated and was taken for and created are the nasty, dirty nuggets that tease you through from start to finish, but there's more going on.
What amazes me, without exception, about autobiographies is the text that rises above the narrative. The unintentional impressions that the author creates about themselves while they forge through the narrative of their lives as they've interpreted it.
Tera Patrick or Linda Ann Hopkins from Fresno, presents a daring, even courageous, if sometimes hilariously shallow and in the end, wildly hypocritical, life for herself during the course of Sinner Takes All.
Finally, the last chapter is a stunner and a novel and telling commentary on celebrity relationships and how they go. So, more than a torrid read through the sex, drugs and rock and roll adventures of a porn star, (more than enough reason to read any book), Sinner Takes All is a study in autobiography with an unprecedented-type of up-to-the-minute, head change ending.
There is a quote from Evan Seinfeld, Tera's husband in the book, on page 134 which made me laugh out loud and which I hope to carry with me always with the hope of having the opportunity to use in conversation some day.
And then there's this bit of melodrama;
It was the hardest thing I've had to face. I took my Hello Kitty suitcase and my dogs Chopper and Mr. Big Time, packed them in the pink smart car Evan had given me on Valentine's Day, and headed off.
...I cranked up Madonna's "Jump" and Linkin Park's "In the End" and drove and cried the whole way to Vegas, never looking back.
Her candor about her firsts in the business, her relationships and particularly the money she earned and spent and negotiated and was taken for and created are the nasty, dirty nuggets that tease you through from start to finish, but there's more going on.
What amazes me, without exception, about autobiographies is the text that rises above the narrative. The unintentional impressions that the author creates about themselves while they forge through the narrative of their lives as they've interpreted it.
Tera Patrick or Linda Ann Hopkins from Fresno, presents a daring, even courageous, if sometimes hilariously shallow and in the end, wildly hypocritical, life for herself during the course of Sinner Takes All.
Finally, the last chapter is a stunner and a novel and telling commentary on celebrity relationships and how they go. So, more than a torrid read through the sex, drugs and rock and roll adventures of a porn star, (more than enough reason to read any book), Sinner Takes All is a study in autobiography with an unprecedented-type of up-to-the-minute, head change ending.
There is a quote from Evan Seinfeld, Tera's husband in the book, on page 134 which made me laugh out loud and which I hope to carry with me always with the hope of having the opportunity to use in conversation some day.
And then there's this bit of melodrama;
It was the hardest thing I've had to face. I took my Hello Kitty suitcase and my dogs Chopper and Mr. Big Time, packed them in the pink smart car Evan had given me on Valentine's Day, and headed off.
...I cranked up Madonna's "Jump" and Linkin Park's "In the End" and drove and cried the whole way to Vegas, never looking back.
August 17, 2015
What a disaster!
- You can tell she thinks she was really cool when she was younger. The way she talks about being a model, drinking, doing drugs, and having sex as a teenager are very "look how cool I was". It was annoying. Especially when she went on and on about what a natural model she is.
- Just like a lot of women whose careers involve being nude, she compares herself to Marilyn Monroe. It was rather offensive. I'm not sure if she really knows anything about Marilyn since she says Marilyn was large sized (Marilyn was a modern size 0 with a 22 inch waist) and she thinks Marilyn was in the porn industry which is false (she did artist modeling).
- It was not written very well at all. It makes her seem illiterate and unintelligent.
- She compares almost everyone mentioned in the book to some celebrity.
- She says porn is not far from prostitution but that prostitution is the most honorable profession. I think that kind of shows how messed up her mind has gotten.
- She describes a working day as 4 hours long, getting your hair and makeup done in a fancy mansion while people bring you coffee, filming a scene for around an hour, and then says that it's really hard work and goes on and on about how much work it is and she works really hard blah blah blah. The way she describes it you'd think she'd been working 16 hours in a coal mine.
I didn't finish this book, it was too painful to read.
- You can tell she thinks she was really cool when she was younger. The way she talks about being a model, drinking, doing drugs, and having sex as a teenager are very "look how cool I was". It was annoying. Especially when she went on and on about what a natural model she is.
- Just like a lot of women whose careers involve being nude, she compares herself to Marilyn Monroe. It was rather offensive. I'm not sure if she really knows anything about Marilyn since she says Marilyn was large sized (Marilyn was a modern size 0 with a 22 inch waist) and she thinks Marilyn was in the porn industry which is false (she did artist modeling).
- It was not written very well at all. It makes her seem illiterate and unintelligent.
- She compares almost everyone mentioned in the book to some celebrity.
- She says porn is not far from prostitution but that prostitution is the most honorable profession. I think that kind of shows how messed up her mind has gotten.
- She describes a working day as 4 hours long, getting your hair and makeup done in a fancy mansion while people bring you coffee, filming a scene for around an hour, and then says that it's really hard work and goes on and on about how much work it is and she works really hard blah blah blah. The way she describes it you'd think she'd been working 16 hours in a coal mine.
I didn't finish this book, it was too painful to read.
February 10, 2020
Porn & the music industry are sick & evil. Im here for women telling their story instead of prettying it up like how they want you to. Tera & others were robbed greatly psychologically & financially. This was a well put together book , if any woman 👩🏻 wants to get in the industry just read these tales that are so cautionary. It took Tera going into porn and being screwed over by the same industry that she joined randomly. For her to find out that she was bipolar ....
As much as this experience was the lowest point of my life, I’m grateful for it. Sometimes you need to go off the rails of the crazy train to get on the right track of your life. And that’s exactly what I did. -Tera P
I am the queen of my own domain now.-Tera P
It may seem sad, but ultimately it’s an amazing gift to help someone awaken their true desires and figure out what they truly want in life. - Tera P
We love and respect each other enough to know that our individual growth and happiness are more important than fighting to stay together to make compromises that either of us just can’t live with. People change.- Tera P
Some of My favorite quotes from the book . ^^^^^^
This was a good book 📖 she really over shared her life to give her fans a better glimpse of who she was & is. The pictures are cute too. Tera did some legendary stuff by that whole Asian woman orgy. Wow Tera is a pretty woman who knew she was so broken inside , I sure didn't know. She dated a lot of lames her & Evan story was uniquely beautiful it's shameful he turned out to be no better than the rest smh ......
As much as this experience was the lowest point of my life, I’m grateful for it. Sometimes you need to go off the rails of the crazy train to get on the right track of your life. And that’s exactly what I did. -Tera P
I am the queen of my own domain now.-Tera P
It may seem sad, but ultimately it’s an amazing gift to help someone awaken their true desires and figure out what they truly want in life. - Tera P
We love and respect each other enough to know that our individual growth and happiness are more important than fighting to stay together to make compromises that either of us just can’t live with. People change.- Tera P
Some of My favorite quotes from the book . ^^^^^^
This was a good book 📖 she really over shared her life to give her fans a better glimpse of who she was & is. The pictures are cute too. Tera did some legendary stuff by that whole Asian woman orgy. Wow Tera is a pretty woman who knew she was so broken inside , I sure didn't know. She dated a lot of lames her & Evan story was uniquely beautiful it's shameful he turned out to be no better than the rest smh ......
June 1, 2015
I had not heard of Tera Patrick before reading this book. I came across this memoir by accident at a booksale and thought 'why not?'. One of the reasons I read memoirs is to get an insight into a different sort of life than one I have lived up to this point. And I have to admit, reading the memoirs of a porn star has a certain 'car accident' appeal to it - by that I mean, ghastly to look at but you can't tear your eyes away from it. Or at least that is what I was expecting. As it turned out, despite having elements of the 'porn star stereotype' : daddy issues, mother issues, broken home, alcoholism, mental illness, lots of sex (of course), attraction to 'bad boys', and some drug abuse (though, to her credit, she steered clear of the hard stuff), I COULD tear my eyes away from it because it wasn't all that well written, even with a ghostwriter.
If you want to read a poignant memoir by a porn star, check out Traci Lords' "Underneath it All". Better written and with a lot more pathos.
If you want to read a poignant memoir by a porn star, check out Traci Lords' "Underneath it All". Better written and with a lot more pathos.
June 9, 2013
A fast and semi-entertaining (though very repetitive) read until 1/2 way through when she dates some jackhole who almost doesn't get on the plane to meet her (after saying he fell in love with her because of their amazing phone conversations over three months) because OH MY GOD WHAT IF SHES GOTTEN FAT?! He then points out that he can fuck ugly girls because he just has to turn them around. But the one thing he can't fuck is a fat girl. WINNER! CLASSY!
Also, Tera made some asinine comments, my favorite being: "I was making about $20,000 a month between all of my gigs, and that sounds like a lot, but in the porn industry it isn't."
Meh, she was pretty annoying and narcissistic on her own and then she lets the aforementioned boyfriend write his own chapters so, sorry, that amount of increased doucheness pushed me to my limit. I was just done.
Also, Tera made some asinine comments, my favorite being: "I was making about $20,000 a month between all of my gigs, and that sounds like a lot, but in the porn industry it isn't."
Meh, she was pretty annoying and narcissistic on her own and then she lets the aforementioned boyfriend write his own chapters so, sorry, that amount of increased doucheness pushed me to my limit. I was just done.
February 3, 2010
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Tera is surprisingly candid about the darker parts of her life.
April 16, 2013
I love memoirs and I think Tera Patrick is absolutely beautiful, I don't watch porn(just not for me) but if I had to pick my "fav" porn star based on looks, Tera would be it. As soon as I saw it at the library I got it, because it's right up my alley. However it really wasn't very well written at all. I finished it quickly, it wasn't exactly boring, but just written fairly poorly, to the point where I'm very surprised there was even a ghost writer at all!!! There were some interesting parts, like the ending where she actually seems to be speaking honestly and from the heart, and her modeling career in Japan was interesting, but she really didn't get very deep or write from the heart. Just a lot of stuff about how much she "loves to fuck" where it almost kind of turned me off. I don't know if I should make comparisons because they are two different people, but Jenna Jameson's book (How To Make Love Like A Porn Star) is about 1,0000 times better. She had a much better ghost writer(I believe the same one who helped Marilyn Manson with his (amazing) memoir, and it had a lot more pictures, but above all she really got very deep and was thoroughly honest and unlike Tera, Jenna's book was extremely raw and real. Sinner Takes All was a bit fluffy.
November 20, 2012
Wonderful book. Everyone thinks that poems stars are all alike and that they are just "porn stars". Tera Patrick is not just any ordinary porn star. She is well educated having obtained an EMT certificate and working as a nurse. She worked her way to the top. I believe one thing that I admire about her is that she enjoyed what she did and does and does not let anyway define her and make her do something if she doesn't want to. One thing she says about those who are porn hopefuls is that you must enjoy what you do, that way you will not be ashamed of what you do. She also has shown that just because she is a porn star she is capable of maintaining a loving marriage with her husband Evan despite what she does and that he supports and has her back 100% of the way. She is a porn star, business woman, wife, dancer, etc which is why she says "have your cake and eat it too." but I believe she says it best when she states hence "sinner takes all!"
May 20, 2014
Pretty interesting..
November 18, 2014
EHH. Not a great read......but I finished it!
September 6, 2024
I cannot fathom living the life this girl has lived. After watching her in an interview, I was provoked to read this book. Again I will say, I cannot fathom the life she lived.
October 14, 2026
Book Review
Sinner Takes All
5/5 stars
"Everything in proportion, and nothing in excess"
(280 pages)
---
This is going to be the last book in this genre that I ever read; starting to feel like all adult film stories are old wine in new bottles.
It's the second book that I've read this year about an adult film star. (Most recently by Aiden Shaw. Over the past 7 years, by: Asa Akira, Ashley Blue, Kayley Sciortino, Lisa Ann and Liara Roux.)
In spite of the superficial differences (this book has a female, and the other one had a male; TP was primarily straight, and Aiden Shaw was totally gay), it seems like the same dynamics are at play in form and substance in this book.
And ALL of the others of this genre that I've read.
1. An extremely nice-looking person who can have virtually any sexual partner, and it leads to a hedonic treadmill of sexual partners, and ultimately no permanence. (What exactly is the difference between partner number 1000 and partner number 1001?)
2. Is there really any point to having a good time if you don't remember it? In the Aiden Shaw book, he had sex all day on set and then afterwards would go to the sauna stoned out of his gourd and have sex with another 5 or 10 guys.
And remember NONE of it!
For the author herself, there are tons of things that TP does not remember, even though she should have.
- (25) Losing her virginity (at 15) to a guy whose name she doesn't remember? Who is 30-something years old?
- (43) Then at 18 with a fireman, who introduced her to public sex for the benefit of his coworkers. Whose name she doesn't remember?
- (64) Her neighbor because he was a guy and he just happened to be there, when she was ready to go? ("So, I went home to my apartment in Canoga Park and knocked on my neighbor's door and said, 'Hi, I'm Tera. Want to fuck?' I don't remember his name.")
3. Ironically, the people who copulate on camera for a living also don't manage to build families. A quick AI search shows that the top 10 female performers have a total of 5 children between them. 0.5 children per woman. And the top 11 male performers have a total of 7 children between them. 0.6 children per man. (TP has one child. Riley Reid--mounted on camera by over 500 unique people--has one.)
4. Ironically, even the most damaged people will draw the line at Black men. (Lexington Steele has said that there are a lot of girls who will not work with him because of his race; Mia Khalifa has all of her Black scene partners use protection, but none of her white scene partners.)
So, TP may have been involuntarily mentally hospitalized, and gone through a number of abusive relationships, and had some number of substance abuse problems.
But at least none of her partners were Black! (Every girl has her limits, you know.)
---
A lot of shit in this book doesn't go together.
1. She moves to Tokyo at 14, and drinks and Valiums her way out of a job by the age of 16? (And her father let her go?)
2. (109) How can you have looks like this and be lonely/low self-esteem?
3. (130) "..... It was even bigger than I thought -- 9 inches and with good girth." (Not even close. Not even close to being close. There is a website, LPSG, that deals with these questions with abundant photographic evidence.)
Otherwise, it's a lot of overlap between these other books that I've read.
1. Nice-looking girl.
2. Not at all too bright.
3. Doesn't necessarily want to punch a clock.
4. Modeling → stripping → full-on adult work.
5. Some amount of drugs/drinking.
6. Mental health/self-esteem issues/involuntary mental hospitalizations/some number of abusive partners/going out of her way to find abusive partners.
7. Financial cluelessness (making tons of money and living in a rented condo and driving a leased car).
8. Multiple engagements, marriages, divorces.
9. Ultimately, being that one who will drown in a spoonful of water, because s/he is just meant to drown.
---
Other thoughts:
1. Some people get too into their work. She changed her legal name to her porn name? (p. 75)
2. TP has a practical side. (73) "I upgraded my car from a Mazda 323 hatchback to a much nicer Honda Accord and moved out of my little apartment in Canoga Park to a fancier loft...."
3. Salary between June and December of 1999 (72): shooting two or three times per week, and making $15,000 a month.
4. Some people really are bent on self-destruction. (119) "Paul clearly wasn't happy. He said: 'I don't want you to meet Evan Seinfeld. He would be bad for you. He would make you into his cock puppet.' But that just piqued my interest even more!"
5. The single worst advice in this book (that I should have made as the first sentence so that anybody will know what NOT to do) came on p. 267. ("Kitty Grooming"). Respect the bush; eschew the razor.
---
The best part is the good advice--and as many bad choices as TP made throughout the course of this book, you wouldn't think you would find it.
(60) The right reasons to get into porn:
You have sex and you're turned on by doing it in front of a camera; you're a free spirit; you don't give a fuck what other people think about you; you love the money; you feel empowered, not degraded.
The wrong reasons to get into porn:
Your boyfriend made you do it; daddy didn't love you enough; you have to support a drug habit; you need the money; you want to get into Hollywood. (Ladies, porn is NOT, I repeat NOT, the gateway to Hollywood!)
(89) When signing a porn contract:
Don't sign it without an attorney reading it first; don't be drunk when you sign it; don't forget to trademark your name before you enter into any business agreements; don't let someone else on your website; don't agree to do airtight (penetration in every orifice at the same time); don't make less money than your manager; don't let your management and production company be one and the same; don't shoot more than one movie a month; don't agree to arbitration if it comes to that; don't sign anything that contains the phrases "in perpetuity" or "throughout the universe."
(104) My tips for a happy threesome:
The girl is always in charge; definitely set up some ground rules, spell out what is off-limits, if anything, and what is fair game ahead of time so there are no surprises; never spend too much time with one sexual partner over the other; don't do a threesome with a friend or close business associate. Pick a partner with somebody you're never going to see again.
(108) Ladies, don't ever let a guy take you on a date to his house: (a) it's cheap, (b) it shows disrespect (what? He didn't want to be seen with me in public?), (c) it usually means all he wants from you is sex, and (d) it's plain lame.
(109) You can always tell her sex is going to be good by how much effort the guy puts into you when you're not under the sheets.
---
Quotes
(134) "No chick could be this good-looking and available. Maybe she has Tourette's syndrome or terrible gas. Maybe she has a tail. Maybe her pussy looked like a bulldog eating porridge."
(265) "Do not treat a girl's nether regions like they are beef jerky."
---
Verdict: Not badly written (with a co-writer), but nowhere near worth as much as it cost. $45.79 (minus whatever I get by selling it back).
Sinner Takes All
5/5 stars
"Everything in proportion, and nothing in excess"
(280 pages)
---
This is going to be the last book in this genre that I ever read; starting to feel like all adult film stories are old wine in new bottles.
It's the second book that I've read this year about an adult film star. (Most recently by Aiden Shaw. Over the past 7 years, by: Asa Akira, Ashley Blue, Kayley Sciortino, Lisa Ann and Liara Roux.)
In spite of the superficial differences (this book has a female, and the other one had a male; TP was primarily straight, and Aiden Shaw was totally gay), it seems like the same dynamics are at play in form and substance in this book.
And ALL of the others of this genre that I've read.
1. An extremely nice-looking person who can have virtually any sexual partner, and it leads to a hedonic treadmill of sexual partners, and ultimately no permanence. (What exactly is the difference between partner number 1000 and partner number 1001?)
2. Is there really any point to having a good time if you don't remember it? In the Aiden Shaw book, he had sex all day on set and then afterwards would go to the sauna stoned out of his gourd and have sex with another 5 or 10 guys.
And remember NONE of it!
For the author herself, there are tons of things that TP does not remember, even though she should have.
- (25) Losing her virginity (at 15) to a guy whose name she doesn't remember? Who is 30-something years old?
- (43) Then at 18 with a fireman, who introduced her to public sex for the benefit of his coworkers. Whose name she doesn't remember?
- (64) Her neighbor because he was a guy and he just happened to be there, when she was ready to go? ("So, I went home to my apartment in Canoga Park and knocked on my neighbor's door and said, 'Hi, I'm Tera. Want to fuck?' I don't remember his name.")
3. Ironically, the people who copulate on camera for a living also don't manage to build families. A quick AI search shows that the top 10 female performers have a total of 5 children between them. 0.5 children per woman. And the top 11 male performers have a total of 7 children between them. 0.6 children per man. (TP has one child. Riley Reid--mounted on camera by over 500 unique people--has one.)
4. Ironically, even the most damaged people will draw the line at Black men. (Lexington Steele has said that there are a lot of girls who will not work with him because of his race; Mia Khalifa has all of her Black scene partners use protection, but none of her white scene partners.)
So, TP may have been involuntarily mentally hospitalized, and gone through a number of abusive relationships, and had some number of substance abuse problems.
But at least none of her partners were Black! (Every girl has her limits, you know.)
---
A lot of shit in this book doesn't go together.
1. She moves to Tokyo at 14, and drinks and Valiums her way out of a job by the age of 16? (And her father let her go?)
2. (109) How can you have looks like this and be lonely/low self-esteem?
3. (130) "..... It was even bigger than I thought -- 9 inches and with good girth." (Not even close. Not even close to being close. There is a website, LPSG, that deals with these questions with abundant photographic evidence.)
Otherwise, it's a lot of overlap between these other books that I've read.
1. Nice-looking girl.
2. Not at all too bright.
3. Doesn't necessarily want to punch a clock.
4. Modeling → stripping → full-on adult work.
5. Some amount of drugs/drinking.
6. Mental health/self-esteem issues/involuntary mental hospitalizations/some number of abusive partners/going out of her way to find abusive partners.
7. Financial cluelessness (making tons of money and living in a rented condo and driving a leased car).
8. Multiple engagements, marriages, divorces.
9. Ultimately, being that one who will drown in a spoonful of water, because s/he is just meant to drown.
---
Other thoughts:
1. Some people get too into their work. She changed her legal name to her porn name? (p. 75)
2. TP has a practical side. (73) "I upgraded my car from a Mazda 323 hatchback to a much nicer Honda Accord and moved out of my little apartment in Canoga Park to a fancier loft...."
3. Salary between June and December of 1999 (72): shooting two or three times per week, and making $15,000 a month.
4. Some people really are bent on self-destruction. (119) "Paul clearly wasn't happy. He said: 'I don't want you to meet Evan Seinfeld. He would be bad for you. He would make you into his cock puppet.' But that just piqued my interest even more!"
5. The single worst advice in this book (that I should have made as the first sentence so that anybody will know what NOT to do) came on p. 267. ("Kitty Grooming"). Respect the bush; eschew the razor.
---
The best part is the good advice--and as many bad choices as TP made throughout the course of this book, you wouldn't think you would find it.
(60) The right reasons to get into porn:
You have sex and you're turned on by doing it in front of a camera; you're a free spirit; you don't give a fuck what other people think about you; you love the money; you feel empowered, not degraded.
The wrong reasons to get into porn:
Your boyfriend made you do it; daddy didn't love you enough; you have to support a drug habit; you need the money; you want to get into Hollywood. (Ladies, porn is NOT, I repeat NOT, the gateway to Hollywood!)
(89) When signing a porn contract:
Don't sign it without an attorney reading it first; don't be drunk when you sign it; don't forget to trademark your name before you enter into any business agreements; don't let someone else on your website; don't agree to do airtight (penetration in every orifice at the same time); don't make less money than your manager; don't let your management and production company be one and the same; don't shoot more than one movie a month; don't agree to arbitration if it comes to that; don't sign anything that contains the phrases "in perpetuity" or "throughout the universe."
(104) My tips for a happy threesome:
The girl is always in charge; definitely set up some ground rules, spell out what is off-limits, if anything, and what is fair game ahead of time so there are no surprises; never spend too much time with one sexual partner over the other; don't do a threesome with a friend or close business associate. Pick a partner with somebody you're never going to see again.
(108) Ladies, don't ever let a guy take you on a date to his house: (a) it's cheap, (b) it shows disrespect (what? He didn't want to be seen with me in public?), (c) it usually means all he wants from you is sex, and (d) it's plain lame.
(109) You can always tell her sex is going to be good by how much effort the guy puts into you when you're not under the sheets.
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Quotes
(134) "No chick could be this good-looking and available. Maybe she has Tourette's syndrome or terrible gas. Maybe she has a tail. Maybe her pussy looked like a bulldog eating porridge."
(265) "Do not treat a girl's nether regions like they are beef jerky."
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Verdict: Not badly written (with a co-writer), but nowhere near worth as much as it cost. $45.79 (minus whatever I get by selling it back).
June 19, 2013
Тера Патрик беше на върха си преди няколко години, но кариерата й залезе доста бързо, въпреки безспорните й качества, след като си хвана за гадже бившия фронтмен на Biohazard - татуиран от главата до петите тип, който едновременно й стана мъж, мениджър и бизнеспартньор. Не, че следя събитията отблизо, по-скоро ги реставрирах постфактум за да разбера защо тази книга е толкова особена.
Та, на въпроса. Тоя тип обсебва живота й дотолкова, че даже пише нейната автобиография (това е очевидно от текста, иначе за автор е посочена Тера). Разбира се, той е пълен некадърник и тя се развежда с него (след написването на книгата става това) когато кариерата й пропада. Сега същото нещо се случва на друга порнозвезда - Лупе Фуентес, която тоя също накара да се ожени за него, стана й мениджър и след като не й даваше да снима с никой друг освен с него, приходите й паднаха дотолкова че той реши да я направи певица. Нейната сила е свиренето, а не пеенето, ако ме разбирате, така че...
Не бе честно, супер се ядосвам като гледам някакви интервюта където той вечно е с нея и практически само той приказва. Имам чувството че създава някаква секта за двама ебаси майсторчето :Р
Иначе книгата е за кариерата на порнозвездата, като историйките от тийнейджърските й години са забавни.
Та, на въпроса. Тоя тип обсебва живота й дотолкова, че даже пише нейната автобиография (това е очевидно от текста, иначе за автор е посочена Тера). Разбира се, той е пълен некадърник и тя се развежда с него (след написването на книгата става това) когато кариерата й пропада. Сега същото нещо се случва на друга порнозвезда - Лупе Фуентес, която тоя също накара да се ожени за него, стана й мениджър и след като не й даваше да снима с никой друг освен с него, приходите й паднаха дотолкова че той реши да я направи певица. Нейната сила е свиренето, а не пеенето, ако ме разбирате, така че...
Не бе честно, супер се ядосвам като гледам някакви интервюта където той вечно е с нея и практически само той приказва. Имам чувството че създава някаква секта за двама ебаси майсторчето :Р
Иначе книгата е за кариерата на порнозвездата, като историйките от тийнейджърските й години са забавни.
September 29, 2016
I was hoping for more insight into the mind of a porn performer, but this book disappointed. It was largely an advertisement for Ms. Patrick's various business ventures. I didn't get the sense that she really had any deep thoughts about the life she chose. She manages to make a few observations such as the fact that she had an emotionally absent father and an abusive mother might have damaged her psychologically.
The main thing I learned was that Tera Patrick has borderline personality disorder and has been really, really physically abusive towards men. Also, she's pretty much a terrible person.
The weird thing about this book is it's basically identical to Asa Akira's book, except Asa's story was more interesting: beautiful young girl of Asian decent does a lot of drugs, gets in to porn, marries a dominating man, wakes up and realizes she doesn't want to do porn any more.
I guess if you are looking to complete a comprehensive survey of porn performer autobiographies you should read this book, otherwise don't bother.
The main thing I learned was that Tera Patrick has borderline personality disorder and has been really, really physically abusive towards men. Also, she's pretty much a terrible person.
The weird thing about this book is it's basically identical to Asa Akira's book, except Asa's story was more interesting: beautiful young girl of Asian decent does a lot of drugs, gets in to porn, marries a dominating man, wakes up and realizes she doesn't want to do porn any more.
I guess if you are looking to complete a comprehensive survey of porn performer autobiographies you should read this book, otherwise don't bother.
Read
September 21, 2012SUMMARY: How does a girl go from being a shy, awkward bookworm to the biggest porn star in the world? In Sinner Takes All, Tera Patrick reveals all, including: her career as an international model; losing her virginity at fourteen to a thirtysomething photographer; learning oral sex techniques backstage at a Guns N' Roses concert; having an orgy with a team of firefighters; her unglamorous job in a nursing home; her first forays into the adult movie business; and how, with her husband's help, she launched her own multimillion-dollar empire. Along the way, she dishes on the emotional side of being Tera Patrick, writing candidly about her battles with depression and anxiety. She also discusses finding true love and building a healthy marriage, achievements that many consider to be impossible in the world of porn. Featuring hundreds of photos, plus diary pages and scintillating sidebars, Sinner Takes All takes the tell-all to raunchy new heights.
November 2, 2012
Sinner Takes All is a fascinating look behind the scenes - not just behind the creation of porn, but into the life and mind of one of its most iconic figures in the 90's. It's not very well-written, and tends to be sometimes defensive, sometimes apologetic, sometimes all-out inspiring - but it is a very real and honest look into Tera Patrick's life, origins and motivations.
It's also a very interesting look at the human beings behind the industry - if you were used to seeing them as objects, one-dimensional, then it's kind of cool to see this whole new world open up, this multi-faceted sides to the actors and the stars and the people that made them what they are - you always knew it was there, but this makes it suddenly, dramatically real.
A pretty interesting read for the facts and the environment, though the story and writing is fairly average.
Tera Patrick fans, warning - you won't look at her the same way again.
It's also a very interesting look at the human beings behind the industry - if you were used to seeing them as objects, one-dimensional, then it's kind of cool to see this whole new world open up, this multi-faceted sides to the actors and the stars and the people that made them what they are - you always knew it was there, but this makes it suddenly, dramatically real.
A pretty interesting read for the facts and the environment, though the story and writing is fairly average.
Tera Patrick fans, warning - you won't look at her the same way again.
June 9, 2015
This felt more like an accompaniment to her burgeoning porn empire than a true autobiography. This is a book about Tera Patrick the porn star, not Linda Hopkins, the person behind the persona, and it feels like it's written in character. Perhaps unsurprisingly sex features heavily but it features too heavily to make it feel like it's the voice of a real person. No-one could be this obsessed with sex, not even a porn star. Case in point, when she meets her husband for the first time, instead of a chapter gushing about romantic meals and walks on the beach we get details of how big his dick is, the wild sex they had that led to the neighbours calling the police, and how she likes it when he chokes her during sex and pisses on her face. This is not real life, though I'm not sure why I expected anything different from a book about / by a porn star. It wasn't terrible but that's probably the nicest thing I could say about it.
February 19, 2013
I read this one as I know nothing about the porn industry and was kind of curious. I think in retrospect it wasn't quite the right book for that kind of insight. It was a lot more personal than I was expecting, with Tera talking a lot about some real low points in her life and her various chaotic relationships. Some of the parts I found interesting and wanted to know more about - how she broke free of the contract she was under, for example - she's legally obliged not to talk about. I'd also like to have read more about her company and the business side of things, but elements like her relationship with Evan Seinfeld were much more prominent.
Overall I came out liking her and admiring her honesty and I did like that by the end of the book she had reached a point where she felt independent and happy, but I don't feel like I took anything in particular away from this book.
Overall I came out liking her and admiring her honesty and I did like that by the end of the book she had reached a point where she felt independent and happy, but I don't feel like I took anything in particular away from this book.
August 27, 2011
Nada del otro mundo. De hecho puedo decir que me decepcionó un poco. Siempre he pensado que Tera Patrick es un poco falsa, quizás por eso nunca me hizo click como performer. Esta buenísima y todo, pero sencillamente creo que es muy obvio todo el acto de "pornstar".
Y el libro refleja exactamente eso. Aunque, y no niego que lo que ella dice sea cierto, el libro trata de intentos de suicidios, depresión, pornografía, etc. Siempre lo hace con una cierta asepsia que le quita emoción a la historia que está contando. Al final, y pesar de que la misma Patrick dice que esa no es su intención, el libro parecer ser sencillamente otro de sus productos destinado a su legión de seguidores.
Yo no soy uno de ellos, quizás por eso el libro me pareció más bien intrascendente.
Y el libro refleja exactamente eso. Aunque, y no niego que lo que ella dice sea cierto, el libro trata de intentos de suicidios, depresión, pornografía, etc. Siempre lo hace con una cierta asepsia que le quita emoción a la historia que está contando. Al final, y pesar de que la misma Patrick dice que esa no es su intención, el libro parecer ser sencillamente otro de sus productos destinado a su legión de seguidores.
Yo no soy uno de ellos, quizás por eso el libro me pareció más bien intrascendente.
January 5, 2013
A voyeuristic peek into a life of a porn star. I love Tera's humble beginnings and how she managed to pick herself up from the ashes after she crashed and burned with her modeling career as a free-spirited but out of control teenager left alone to fend for herself in a faraway country. Her story is very inspiring in the sense that the book spurs you to believe in the power of ambition and sheer determination. I love the stark honesty of the book as Tera bares everything (literally and figuratively). A bittersweet story of her rise to fame, her struggle with family life, her pursuit of a prolific porn career and her relationships with men, on and off the camera. A must-read for those who would like to pick a brain of someone who isn't afraid to reach for what she wants.
March 10, 2010
This book begins with a expected similarity to Crystal Renn's recent Hungry. Where Renn found plus size modeling and a life partner who engaged her and challenged her Patrick found the cold studio machinations of Porn Valley and a failed marriage. Patrick wrote the balance of this book before her marriage ended and so, we the reader, the ending comes as a halting and seemingly unfair surprise in the afterword. But this is probably best because it means that it hasn't been re-examined from three dozen angles and the emotions the relationship entailed haven't been written off yet. We feel the wound.
June 18, 2010
I'll say right away that this one is not as good as Jenna Jameson's.
However, her way into the industry was definitely different than Jenna's, and I was surprised by the negative remarks about Jenna that were scattered throughout, especially given that Tera isn't mentioned at all in Jenna's book.
She doesn't have as many "issues" as Jenna did in her youth. That makes her different for sure, and thus, more relatable to a "normal" person.
She definitely had moments of going off the deep end, just like Jenna did, and there is plenty of sexual content in this book (obviously, to be expected).
I really, really liked it. I hope more porn stars write books!
However, her way into the industry was definitely different than Jenna's, and I was surprised by the negative remarks about Jenna that were scattered throughout, especially given that Tera isn't mentioned at all in Jenna's book.
She doesn't have as many "issues" as Jenna did in her youth. That makes her different for sure, and thus, more relatable to a "normal" person.
She definitely had moments of going off the deep end, just like Jenna did, and there is plenty of sexual content in this book (obviously, to be expected).
I really, really liked it. I hope more porn stars write books!
April 16, 2011
Right from the start I liked this book better than Jenna Jameson's. I found it interesting that Tera claims she got into the porn industry "for the right reasons." Throughout this book she seemed very honest and genuine about the highs and lows of her life, especially candid in the lows. She manages to keep the big picture in perspective for the most part, to claw her way up and rise above her humble porn star beginnings. I liked that for once a star wasn't totally lost in the haze of drugs, although she admits she did have an alcohol problem. I found it to be a very engaging book, it didn't have many slow parts or long, stale bits of back story, it kept me interested and wanting more.
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August 30, 2011
This wasn't what I was expecting and at the same time it was. Tera Patrick has lived a very interesting life, but I found that there were some things I wanted to know more about that she didn't focus on. Other things, which I wasn't as interested about, she did focus on in far too much detail. It's all a matter of preference though and it's interesting to see an insider's view of the porn industry and how she dealt with things.
As an autobiography it was funny, sometimes thoughtful and above all, it seemed honest which, given the interesting subject material, is all that you can really ask for.
As an autobiography it was funny, sometimes thoughtful and above all, it seemed honest which, given the interesting subject material, is all that you can really ask for.
January 11, 2013
I read Jenna Jameson's bio and LOVED the chance to catch a glimpse into her life. It was a great read. Then I read this thinking it would be just as thrilling with juicy details. But it just felt like I was reading a sort of repeat of Jenna's book. Linda and Jenna lead similar lives. They both didn't have a strong family foundation and they both dated their share of shitty guys. They both worked for similar companies, yada yada. I think I'm gonna stop reading any more porn stars' bios bcuz I'm sure they're all pretty much the same, hate to say it. Ugh, what a waste of a week trying to finish this.
September 20, 2010
I don't normally read books like this, but it was laying around for my mom to read - so I picked it and finished it in less than 7 hours. It was a really good book about Tera Patrick's life. It was very vivid, and no censoring. It was alot better than I thought. The ending was just a little bit unnerving, as in the book she finally found "True Love" and so explicitly described their love. In the end, in her afterword she explained about their breakup. I guess that's what she gets for letting her husband get into porn also :)
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