Mary Frances Mau’s memoir, “Tricked: My Life as a Child Sex Trafficking Survivor,” tells the troubling and moving story of her decades as a trafficked sex worker. After Mau’s mother died by suicide when she was a teenager, she moved to New York with a man who controlled her movements and forced her into sex work. She was eventually arrested for prostitution and served time on Rikers Island.
Later, Mau managed to escape her pimp in New York and move to Hawaiʻi with her young daughter, but she was still trapped in her life as a sex worker. Leaving that world took a complete transformation in her 40s, and she writes about this journey in her new book, co-authored with local author Mary St John-Putnam.
The Conversation spoke with Mau and St John-Putnam about the book and their collaboration. Mau starts by describing how she hopes her story can reach those who have their own experiences being trafficked.
Mau and St John-Putnam will be at a book discussion and signing on Jan. 18 at Barnes & Noble in the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. For event information, click here.
Editor’s note: This interview features heavy themes of violence and suicide.
This story aired on The Conversation on Jan. 15, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
