AUTHOR

Victoria Valentino's debut memoir has been in the works for twenty years,

and is slated for publication at the end of March, 2022. Stay Tuned!

Victoria’s memoir, “Dirty Diamonds: The Repurposed Life of a Playboy Icon and Cosby Survivor” is not a story that is solely a retelling of the Cosby experience. Cosby was a blip on her radar, but was the thread that pulled together the telling of her life story as a survivor of childhood abuse, domestic abuse, multiple rapes as a young girl making her the easy target for the man who would make her Playboy’s Miss September 1963, the father of her son - and ultimately her trafficker and worst abuser. It was the tipping point that in finding her own voice made her a beacon of hope, trust and light for others who have not yet found theirs. It is her story of triumph over tragedy, following her own Yellow Brick Road towards transformational healing through creative action and the gifts of unconditional love from the most unlikely sources.

Diamonds are the most pure jewels sparkling with Light and precious gifts of high value. Victoria has come to see an experience in her life with the first diamond she ever bought for herself after losing everything, as a metaphor for life. Diamonds are not created, but are made from simple organic materials and under great pressure and time they begin to shine. Should we be careless with our precious god-given gifts - our own ‘diamonds’ their Light will dull and fade. Our daily task is to keep our “diamonds” clean and bright so their Light will shine into the world.

In every one’s life there is a time in which we tell our life story from the ‘before and after.’ In Victoria’s life it was ‘before Tony died’ and ‘after Tony died.’ Everything that happened from there led her on the journey that would bring her towards healing and finally finding her voice when she spoke out publicly in 2014 about being drugged, kidnapped and raped by Bill Cosby within weeks after her 6 year old child, Tony, drowned in 1969. Her life story is multifaceted, complex, deeply painful, deceptively lovely in many ways on the surface, hard work, richly satisfying and in the end a triumphant journey of overcoming adversity, transforming trauma into lessons of spiritual growth with a myriad interesting diverse stories along the way. Victoria’s deepest wish is that her life experiences, her journey of survival and her stories of life’s ironies and karmic resolution will provide some inspiration, touchstones and hope for those survivors and others who have experienced deep suffering, grief and loss in their own lives.

Her goal, with her publisher, Marissa F. Cohen, is for a three book series with the first book making its debut in April of 2022- Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Look for it!