Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Non-fiction
Server’s book revealing by Troy Landreville tlandreville@mrtimes.com
It’s high noon on a Thursday. Two men wearing slacks, dress shirts, and ties stroll into the CaddyShack. The exotic show lounge in Maple Ridge is pitch dark but for the glow of television screens hanging off the walls and the red and orange glimmer from spotlights directed towards the wooden stage. Troy Landreville/TIMES The doors just opened. Waitress Romana Van Lissum is the author of The Life of a Stripper, The stage is barren. 50 exotic dancers confess their personal experiences in the adult Empty seats wait to be entertainment industry. filled. Romana Van Lissum Van Lissum doesn’t just Instead of using real has seen countless faces sling burgers and brews. or stage names, dancers meander through the doors She’s also an author who picked the name of a of the CaddyShack. penned The Life of a flower to use as an alias for She’s been a cocktail Stripper, 50 exotic danconfidentiality purposes. waitress there for more cers confess their personal “A lot of the girls told me than 18 years and knows experiences in the adult that, if it was somebody many of the “regulars” by entertainment industry. else interviewing them they their first name. It took her two years to wouldn’t grant [the interShe also knows the stripfinish the book, which she view],” Van Lissum said. pers who have entered and hopes will portray the danVan Lissum said The Life exited her life. cers in a difof a Stripper is “not a book The ferent light. about exotic dancers whinwomen, “A lot ing about how they came “You get some guys who range of people from broken homes or how where this is the in age from stereotype desperate they are for male 19 to 40, first place they’ll go the dancers, attention.” dance for thinking that She calls it “an eye-opento when they get patrons they are all ing book full of true stories out of jail.” who crane drug addicts that belong to a variety of Romana Van Lissum their necks and alcoholwomen who travel a differto get a ics and have ent journey than most.” closer look daddy issues,” The book has many from the seats that encircle Van Lissum said. “Because cautionary tales about the the CaddyShack stage. I’ve been here for 18 years, industry. Van Lissum said These are the customers and knowing all the girls… a few of these stories may who see the dancers from I knew a lot of them had even deter some women the up-close vantage point kids, are married, never from entering the world of of what Van Lissum refers touched drugs, some of the exotic dancing. to as “gyno row.” girls never touched alcohol, “There’s a lot of crazy Most of the men who some of them travel around stories,” Van Lissum said. come to see these – in the with their dog, and they’re “I think this book will open words of one dancer – “vis- just like regular people.” a lot of people’s eyes.” ual stimulation techniIt takes dedication to The paperback and cians” perform are average, be a dancer, Van Lissum ebook format of The Life every-day guys, and the remarked, adding, “A lot of a Stripper is available lounge’s clientele run the of people don’t realize that online at Amazon.com. gamut, their collars ranging these [dancers] are workThe paperback version from dark blue to bleached ing Monday to Saturday, can also be purchased at white. Sunday is maybe a doing any Lower Mainland Black “You get good guys, you their laundry, cleaning Bond Books location. get married guys, you get their house, traveling day.” Ebook formats can be young guys, you get some A dancer with a univerfound on Kindle, Kobo, guys where this is the first sity education edited the Sony, and Smashwords. place they’ll go to when book and the artist who Additional information is they get out of jail,” Van designed the cover danced available on Van Lissum’s Lissum said. for more than 10 years. website, www.thelifeoEven so, workplace safeThe book is a collection fastripper.com. ty has never been an issue of 50 short stories of each Copies of Van Lissum’s for Van Lissum a married woman’s experiences. book will also be available mom of a grown daughter. The length of each entry at the Sunday, Dec. 2 strip“In here,” she says, “the ranges from one page to 15 a-thon at the CaddyShack. guys treat you like gold, pages. Five dollars from the no one’s allowed to touch The stories range from sale of each book will go you, and if you have a drug abuse, psycho boyto the Maple Ridge and problem, you have three friends, crooked clubs, and Pitt Meadows Christmas quarters of the room ready prostitution to homelessHamper Society. to back you up.” • More online at www.mrtimes.com ness, porn, and hustling.
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