Leaving the industry is one of the most difficult stages in a sex-worker's life. It's a time where one is most vulnerable. You're going from one place that even with all its downsides is familiar to you, to a place of uncertainty. It's normal that at that point one doesn't know what to do, where to start, what to expect. It's a huge step that requires a lot of courage and strength. At the same time it's an inevitable step, because sooner or later age will force you out - just like for professional athletes - and it's better to be prepared and get out in time when you can do it on your own terms .

I wish there was a place for performers like Cindy and other sex-workers, current or former where they could share experiences and find some support. I wish that only place available was not Shelly Lubben. Maybe in the future I will try to set up something like that in LA, but that's still a few years down the road for me before I can contemplate doing anything like that.

Xpt in some ways could have had that potential, a place for industry people to talk about issues that affect them. Unfortunately it always seems to end up that the female performers who want to post here are attacked like they're some kind of deadly threat, unless they limit themselves to posting nude pictures.

I don't understand why that is so, it may be that the direct contact with a female performer talking about anything else but her next bookings and how much she enjoyed being a cheerleader in high school destroys the highly impersonal fantasy of porn in the consumers heads. I'm a lipstick feminist, so I have no judgment on porn and admire the girls who managed to work in the industry without becoming victims of their own demons or of exploitation. It's a tough environment to be in, almost like a war zone.

Cindy, if you had the strength to manage your career this far and you even say that you had a lot fun with it and enjoyed what you did - which is more that many of us can say about our jobs - I am sure you have all the resources to be able to look ahead and start building your next life just as successfully as you did in the past.

Best wishes to you.