Can you imagine seeing porn stars having sex in your backyard, or watching a topless waitress breastfeeding a kitten at one of your parent’s parties? Well, I don’t have to imagine it because I lived it. My name is Romola Hodas and I’m the eldest daughter of Marty (Martin) Hodas, aka “Times Square’s King of Porn,” the man who almost single-handedly built New York City’s pornography and adult entertainment industry from the 1960s to the 1980s.

By the time I was eighteen, I had survived two kidnapping attempts, summering in the Catskills with members of the Colombo crime family, surviving verbal and physical abuse, and a year in reform school. My childhood was a nightmare of violence, chaos, and severe body shaming.

I did my best to protect my three younger siblings when our dad grew increasingly abusive and our brilliant, bipolar artist mother broke with reality and took to her bed for months at a time. Against all odds, I not only survived a childhood few people could fathom, but I also thrived, becoming a successful businesswoman who now devotes her life to helping others.