Shame is an emotional stagnator, a barrier that blocks the capacity to feel. It sits like a heavy layer over the self – quiet, corrosive, and persistent. Sometimes it forms slowly, sedimented over years of silence and secrecy. Other times, it arrives fast, like a slap. Either way, it separates us from the fullness of our erotic, emotional, and creative lives.

To live in truth, shame must be dissolved – or pierced through. It must be broken open so that what lies underneath can be felt, known, and expressed.

What happens when we name it, expose it, and let it breathe?

I am curating a collection of erotic stories that engage directly with shame – stories that either inspire de-shaming in the act of writing and sharing or recount experiences that catalyzed shame or its unraveling. These stories can be heartbreaking, funny, eccentric, or mundane. They can be confessional, poetic, raw, or dreamlike. They can be written in first-person, third-person, or any format that suits your voice.

All submissions will be completely anonymous. I only ask that you please include your age, ethnicity, religion, pronouns, profession, sexual orientation, and place of birth or where you currently reside. In the end, this information will highlight the diversity of voices in the assemblage.

If you feel called to contribute, please mail your story to:

Helen Tuggle
Choriner Str. 61
10435 Berlin, Germany

If you’d like to receive a free copy of the book when it’s published, please include your email address or mailing address with your submission (this will remain confidential).

And if this invitation makes you think of someone who might have a story to share, please pass it along.

This is an invitation to alchemize shame into something else – something that breathes, that stirs, that frees.