To Love, to Obey, to Serve: Diary of an Old Guard Slave

As an Old Guard submissive, I was amazed by Vi Johnson's diary. I, too, am expected to keep a journal but the depth of mine does not compare to hers. Expectations differ by Dominant. While my Dominant does not expect me to construct a dungeon in Her home and would absolutely kill me if I were to turn to drugs, She does expect me to change in the ways She considers to be growth. This isn't easy but, after reading this book, I now appreciate how much my Dominant cares. I highly recommend this book to any submissive who thinks there's more to BDSM but doesn't know where to look.

I have many people who go on and on about the "good old days" of SM -- frankly I think their romantic notions need a bit of checking and this diary does it. It is a bit difficult to follow because it is in diary form. You will be shocked, you will be frightened, and you may be turned-off especially if you came into BDSM in the 1990s when SSC because was pretty standard. Because it is a diary, because it attempts to look at Johnson's life, there is little reflection or questioning of the events and people protrayed though there are entries where such analysis does appear it is still from within the mindset of an "old guard slave". For people who "pine for the good old days" this can be a reality check but it may not have been the average reality for every person in the SM lifestyle in the 1970s and 1980s.

... but it is brutally real. If you are looking for fantasy fodder, look elsewhere. This is reality, raw and unpolished. Vi is one of the Mothers of the modern BDSM scene. She put her life out there so that others could learn from her mistakes. Anyone who ever thought it would be a good idea to sign their life completely over to someone should be made to read this book before they continue along that path. As the saying goes - Be careful what you wish for. This book is an emotional roller coaster. When Mother Vi writes about her mother I was moved to tears. I felt angry for her when she was "forgotten" by her owners. The thing that drove me to turn the page was the realization that this is as real as it gets. This happened. If you've been in the scene long enough, some of the players will sound familiar. This just adds to the weight of its truthfulness. And although there are always several versions of the truth, rarely will you ever find someone with the guts to tell their version of it with such frank honesty. Mother Vi lays it all on the line so that we may learn and grow. To that I say "Thank You."

Vi Johnson has written one of the best first hand accounts of consensual slavery ever written and provides a perspective from well before BDSM was nearly as popular as it is today. I could not put the book down, except to make myself digest sections of it before going on. This is not a "how to" book, nor is it romance, though the love she has for the people in the book does shine through. This is not a book intended for one handed reading, its not racey or sexy nor does it cater to fantasy. What it does provide is the truth in a no holds barred account about one persons first hand experences.

As real as it gets. This brutally honest book describes in sometimes graphic detail the life, love and thoughts of an old guard slave, directly from her journals over several years. Vi Johnson began her journey as a slave at the time when "...the concept of a 'safeword' would get you laughed out of a public playspace". If you want to get a true feel for what it is like to be a true slave in every sense of the word, this is a *must read*.