Anonymous author J.K Stein steps up and shares her painful, yet moving story through five years of journal entries in her new memoir, The Director. 

Stein, a recent college grad, first met the director at a coffee shop on the Upper West Side in New York City. He approached her, complimented her beauty and came upon the realization that she needed to be in his new film. From that day forth, Stein would spiral into a five-year long abusive relationship.  

The Director gives readers a first-person point of view of the horrible, raw experiences Stein went through. The memoir not only deals with sexual abuse and harassment, but also self-image issues and eating disorders. Stein doesn’t fail to leave out details — though hard to read at times, to be aware of them is important.

Throughout the memoir, the director (as Stein calls him) uses his power, her insecurities and his high profile to overpower the college graduate.

Though Stein is sickened by the happenings, she tries rationalizing her dream, and how being in his film will help her achieve it. The memoir explores consent and the morally “gray area” it involved. As a young college grad trying to keep her living and achieve her dream while dealing with self-hatred and manipulation, consent wasn’t as simple as “yes” or “no.”

Though heartbreaking and difficult to read, I believe that The Director is an important story for people of all ages to read. Not only does The Director offer a truthful and raw look at sexual abuse, but it is also therapeutic.

Stein has given others, women and men alike, the opportunity to relate and find their own voices through her writing, and in a time where people are coming forth and sharing their stories and leaning on each other for support, this kind of story is what we need most. 

For further information about the book or Stein herself, check out her website at https://www.thedirector.info or on Twitter (@JKStein), Instagram (j.k._stein) and Facebook.