--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story…" description: "\"Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story will be familiar to many women, most of whom won't want to admit it. In this heartfelt and authentic memoir, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/janice-erlbaum-43956_familiar_kerry-cohen-s-powerful-transfixing-story_2166272.jpg" --- # Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story will be familiar… ![“Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story will be familiar to many women, most of whom won't want to admit it. In this heartfelt and authentic memoir, Cohen transcends the pain and shame of a promiscuous past, and leaves readers with a sense of hope and triumph.” quote by Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/janice-erlbaum-43956_familiar_kerry-cohen-s-powerful-transfixing-story_2166272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/janice-erlbaum-43956_familiar_kerry-cohen-s-powerful-transfixing-story_2166272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d28/janice-erlbaum-43956_familiar_kerry-cohen-s-powerful-transfixing-story_2166272.jpg) > “Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story will be familiar to many women, most of whom won't want to admit it. In this heartfelt and authentic memoir, Cohen transcends the pain and shame of a promiscuous past, and leaves readers with a sense of hope and triumph.” [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman confronts past sexual choices, turning shame into empowerment and hope for others. **In simple terms:** Facing past mistakes leads to growth and hope. Key Takeaway Embrace honesty, seek healing. Themes shame empowerment healing hope Mood reflective hopeful inspirational Type memoir personal growth testimonial When to use this quote - personal recovery - support groups - therapy sessions Key Concepts self‑acceptance redemption narrative therapy Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform personal shame into strength? - What support helps you move from regret to hope? A Different Perspective Progress may be hindered by societal judgment and internalized guilt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authentic Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic-memoir-4618478/) [Cohen Transcends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cohen-transcends-4618482/) [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Heartfelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartfelt/) [Heartfelt Authentic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartfelt-authentic-4618481/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Memoir Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir-cohen-4618479/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Promiscuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promiscuous/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Transcends Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcends-pain-4618480/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > ['Promiscuous' implies that I'm not choosy. In fact I'm very choosy. I just happen to have had a lot of choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/promiscuous-implies-that-i-m-not-choosy-in-fact-i-m-very-choosy-i/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [“... then unleashed Stargate's 18 sex-starved men on our women, compliant and promiscuous by military custom and law...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/then-unleashed-stargate-s-18-sex-starved-men-on-our-women-compliant/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [“Cheating in relationship is a sign of self-regulation failure. When it happens ones, it is a mistake. When it happens twice, it is unfortunate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/cheating-in-relationship-is-a-sign-of-self-regulation-failure-when-it/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [A promiscuous person is a person who is getting more sex than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lownes/a-promiscuous-person-is-a-person-who-is-getting-more-sex-than-you-are/) [Victor Lownes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lownes/) > [People equate sexy with promiscuous. They think that because I'm shaped this way, I must be scandalous - like running around and bringing men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/people-equate-sexy-with-promiscuous-they-think-that-because-i-m/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [“Don’t blame your mother, Tony. I was the one being promiscuous.” Owen said. Evelyn nodded. “And you know how much I love Greek mythology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delora-dennis/don-t-blame-your-mother-tony-i-was-the-one-being-promiscuous-owen/) [Delora Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delora-dennis/) > [If you can allow colour to breathe, to occupy its own space, to play its own game in its unstable way, it's wanton behaviour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/if-you-can-allow-colour-to-breathe-to-occupy-its-own-space-to-play/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [Early in 1986, the World Health Organization in Geneva still regarded AIDS as an ailment of the promiscuous few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/early-in-1986-the-world-health-organization-in-geneva-still-regarded/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [“God damn, I wish I could fast-forward time and be old and wrinkly. How awesome would that be? No more worrying about getting ogled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isobel-irons/god-damn-i-wish-i-could-fast-forward-time-and-be-old-and-wrinkly-how/) [Isobel Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isobel-irons/) > [“You were saying that the kind of man Robert was is hard to find,” she said. Yes…it is.” I thought you were that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dew-platt/you-were-saying-that-the-kind-of-man-robert-was-is-hard-to-find-she/) [Dew Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dew-platt/) > [“Polygamy is about sex, whereas monogamy is about love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/polygamy-is-about-sex-whereas-monogamy-is-about-love/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The search for pleasure is circular, repetitive, atemporal. The variety seeking of the spectator, the thrill hunter, the sexually promiscuous, always ends in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-search-for-pleasure-is-circular-repetitive-atemporal-the-variety/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I don't know whether guys are more promiscuous or just bigger liars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-tour-chayes/i-don-t-know-whether-guys-are-more-promiscuous-or-just-bigger-liars/) [Jennifer Tour Chayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-tour-chayes/) > [The medium's gaze is brief, intense, and promiscuous. The shelf life of the moral causes it makes its own is brutally short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-medium-s-gaze-is-brief-intense-and-promiscuous-the-shelf-life-of/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [until ... the promiscuous woman is recognized, not only in law but in public opinion, as being neither better nor worse than the promiscuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-roberta-noble-neilans/until-the-promiscuous-woman-is-recognized-not-only-in-law-but-in/) [Alison Roberta Noble Neilans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-roberta-noble-neilans/) ## More by Janice Erlbaum > [I didn't set out to write a book with no real male characters, but men were not important to my narrator, who was much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/i-didn-t-set-out-to-write-a-book-with-no-real-male-characters-but-men/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [I remain an active volunteer in the field of at-risk youth, so I'm pretty familiar with the landscape as it stands now, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/i-remain-an-active-volunteer-in-the-field-of-at-risk-youth-so-i-m/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [Kyria Abrahams, former teen bride of a doomsday cult and seeker of salvation in slam poetry, tells the terribly funny story of her improbable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/kyria-abrahams-former-teen-bride-of-a-doomsday-cult-and-seeker-of/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [You read so much about the healing power of memoir, but you don't read about the wounding power it has first. The recollection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/you-read-so-much-about-the-healing-power-of-memoir-but-you-don-t-read/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [Anybody who severs their own Achilles tendon, takes blood thinners to induce a hospital stay , or beats themselves with their fists hurts themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/anybody-who-severs-their-own-achilles-tendon-takes-blood-thinners-to/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [Going from memoir to fiction was fantastic. I had been afraid to move away from memoir; I'd written some novel drafts, but they weren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/going-from-memoir-to-fiction-was-fantastic-i-had-been-afraid-to-move/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [Those of us who obsess over every word and action are constantly recalling past events, but that doesn't make them any less painful, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/those-of-us-who-obsess-over-every-word-and-action-are-constantly/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [I feel a lot of sympathy for the young women I've written about, including Younger Janice. I think that all of them (me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/i-feel-a-lot-of-sympathy-for-the-young-women-i-ve-written-about/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) [Explore all 9 Janice Erlbaum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) ## More Familiar quotes > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Photography's potential as a great image-maker and communicator is really no different from the same potential in the best poetry where familiar, everyday words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-caponigro/photography-s-potential-as-a-great-image-maker-and-communicator-is/) [Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-caponigro/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [This kind of horror has become all too familiar to us. As parents, Cindy and I offer our prayers to the memory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/this-kind-of-horror-has-become-all-too-familiar-to-us-as-parents/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Any creative process is about being in a territory which isn't secure, isn't necessarily familiar, and isn't convenient in any sort of way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/any-creative-process-is-about-being-in-a-territory-which-isn-t-secure/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I don't look to play people that are familiar. I look to play people that are different, challenge, unknown, foreign, and therefore scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/i-don-t-look-to-play-people-that-are-familiar-i-look-to-play-people/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [My pet peeve is hearing a knock on the bathroom door followed by the familiar words, 'What are you doing in there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-scalf-linamen/my-pet-peeve-is-hearing-a-knock-on-the-bathroom-door-followed-by-the/) [Karen Scalf Linamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-scalf-linamen/) > [The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grump-looking old man with a great deal of a long gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-barman-sidled-toward-them-out-of-a-back-room-he-was-a-grump/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Television is a thing that people get very familiar with. They want to hear your voice in their head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-wayans-jr/television-is-a-thing-that-people-get-very-familiar-with-they-want-to/) [Damon Wayans, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-wayans-jr/) > [It's truly gratifying to see my films reach beyond a familiar public, to get a chance to move new audiences. It's nuts. It's extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-audiard/it-s-truly-gratifying-to-see-my-films-reach-beyond-a-familiar-public/) [Jacques Audiard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-audiard/) > [When I was in high school, I was a bad singer. I mean, all my early acting was musical theater, and my first ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-claflin/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-was-a-bad-singer-i-mean-all-my-early/) [Sam Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-claflin/) > [Fella’s a genius. Best ever by a distance in my life time. Never really saw Pele… Souness, Gullit, Venables and now Rooney agree Messi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/fella-s-a-genius-best-ever-by-a-distance-in-my-life-time-never-really/) [Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/) > [Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/sometimes-all-it-takes-is-a-tiny-shift-of-perspective-to-see/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) [Browse all 1,916 Familiar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Kerry Cohen's powerful, transfixing story will be familiar to many women, most of whom won't want to admit it. 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