Thanks for the kind words. Honestly, I didn’t expect the piece to land the way it did.
The person who partly inspired Zoe did read it and messaged me afterwards. I won’t say who, and I won’t give details, because the whole point was to protect her, not turn her into gossip.
But her reaction stayed with me.
She liked it, but I think it also made her feel a bit exposed. Not exposed because I named her, because I didn’t. More because when someone writes close enough to the truth, you can feel yourself inside it even when nobody else knows it is you.
That made me think a lot.
I wrote it from admiration, not pity. I have seen enough of this industry now to know that some women are carrying far more than clients ever see. Study, family pressure, money pressure, secrecy, tiredness, men, bad decisions, discipline, survival, and still somehow turning up with a smile because that is the job.
And yeah, I do wonder sometimes how different people would react if someone wrote about them properly. Not just WLs. Anyone. A boss. A teacher. A cleaner. A nurse. A bloke who looks fine but is barely holding his life together. Most people probably have a “Zoe” part of them somewhere. The part that is doing more than people realise.
I don’t think everyone wants to be praised. Praise can be cheap.
I think a lot of people just want someone to notice the real weight they are carrying and not make it ugly.
That was what I was trying to do with Zoe.