“That’s why people ask for strange things,” she says. “They don’t have language for what they actually want.”
In her view, the client didn’t want a dying woman. He wanted reassurance. Control. A way to touch grief without being consumed by it.
Still Standing
Marianne continues to see a small number of clients. She works fewer hours, charges more, and chooses carefully.
“I don’t need to prove anything anymore,” she says. “Least of all my willingness to disappear for someone else’s comfort.”
When asked if she regrets staying in the industry so long, she doesn’t hesitate.
“No,” she says. “I regret the lies people tell about it.”
The grossest request she ever received wasn’t about sex at all. It was about erasing a woman who had spent a lifetime insisting on being seen.
“And that,” Marianne says, “is where I draw the line.”
