In December 2017 the famous porn star August Ames committed suicide in a park in the Conejo Valley. It happened a day after she'd been the victim of a pile-on, via Twitter, by fellow porn professionals - punishment for her tweeting something deemed homophobic.
A month later, August's husband, Kevin, connected with Jon Ronson to tell the story of how Twitter bullying killed his wife. What neither Kevin nor Ronson realized was that Ronson would soon hear rumours and secrets hinting at a very different story - something mysterious and unexpected and terrible.
In The Last Days of August, Ronson unravels the never-before-told story of what caused this beloved 23-year-old actress' untimely death.
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(Audible Original, 3 January 2019, 3 hours 43 minutes, audiobook, Audible Show, freebie from @audibleuk)
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These podcasts were incredibly painful to listen to at times as Ronson slowly and painfully unravels the truth, not just about August but the industry she worked in, the industry that to an extent, led to her death. The premise starts off simple, Ronson is going to focus on cyber-bullying and how this drove vulnerable, depressed August to her last desperate act. Like most pieces of investigative journalism it's not as simple as that. August's tweet did come across as homophobic because she didn't say it her refusal was because the guy hadn't been tested for STI's. This would have made all the difference. But anyway, Ronson delves deeper and deeper and uncovers darkness in the porn industry where August worked, her childhood as a victim of sexual abuse and there are serious issues with her older husband, Kevin and his obsessive need to control and dominate. I was in tears. I can't wait to listen to Ronson's other Audible title, The Butterfly Effect.
