If You Were Shocked By "Sex/Life," Here's Another Shocker: It's A True Story

The real story that gave Netflix Sex/Life.

The streaming giant Netflix dropped a new series, Sex/Life, in the last week of June and it has taken the internet by storm.

Netflix

Sex/Life is quite upfront about the first word that comprises its name and it has got viewers hot and bothered. It is a "sex-strewn, nudity-heavy saucefest" that has rocketed to the top of Netflix’s charts. The web series follows Billie Connelly (the ravishing Sarah Shahi), an unsatisfied, stay-at-home suburban mom of two kids, living in Greenwich, Connecticut who is bored of her mundane and bland life of staying in a big house and leading a comfortable upper-middle class lifestyle. She is married to a man who has the looks and body of a male supermodel and is an investment banker who is seldom seen working and mostly seen walking around "tired" in expensive suits.  

Billie becomes so bored of her rosy, picture perfect life and of the monotonous sex (her husband was watching NFL game while she was on top of him) that she starts lusting for her pre-marital life when she was a veteran of sexual escapades, and in her own words, "had been contorted into at least 73% of the positions in the Kama Sutra". 

In order to reinvigorate her mundane sex life she starts reminiscing about her former life and starts documenting her wildest sexual experiences in a journal, kind of a memoir.

Netflix

These experiences include many passion and lust fuelled encounters with strangers but are mostly about her mean, bad boy ex-boyfriend Brad for whom she is still horny. Brad is a record company executive who is usually seen having sex with Billie in all sorts of places that are not a bed. And Billie doesn't want anything more. 

Albeit the show has pulled in lots of viewers for Netflix, it has failed to please critics and common viewers (like IMDb users) as reflected in its 5.6/10 rating.

Netflix

Many reviewers felt that the only thing the show had to offer was nudity and neon-lit sex. With a story that mirrors plot of porn movies, it is no surprise that the show has failed to engage viewers and has to rely on raunchiness to sell itself.

However, the show is based on the 2016 book 44 Chapters About 4 Men written by former school psychologist and self confessed "skank", BB Easton.

@author.bb.easton / Via instagram.com

It's a memoir written in diary form that takes us on a journey into Easton's impulsive and raunchy past. We learn of four men who are described by Easton as "tattoo artist turned U.S. Marine turned motorcycle club outlaw, a baby-faced punk rocker out on parole, and a heavy-metal bass player."

Like her onscreen counterpart, Easton embarked on writing the journal after feeling stranded in the quiet sea of her life as a suburban wife, mother of two, and school psychologist.

Netflix

Her husband, Ken, was unlike the paramours and ex-boyfriends of her former life. "The man is at least ninety percent perfect for me, but lately, all I can think about is the less-than-or-equal-to ten person that's missing: passion and body art. Two things I need to mourn and move on from in order to protect my lovely, monotonous marriage. But I can't," Easton wrote in her book's first diary entry.

Easton wanted to relive the magic and thrill of her past carefree and wild sexcapades and she found a productive and provocative way to do this via journaling.

BB Easton / Via instagram.com

Easton further explains, "That was the most cathartic experience for me. It helped me form a bridge between my current life and the girl I used to be. I was living my current life but I was writing about all these fun experiences and it helped me feel like I was the same person".  

Easton thought of using her past wild experiences as a shaker to add spice to her married life. She used the journal as a bait and one day left it out in the open where her husband could easily get his hands on it.

BB Easton / Via instagram.com

Ken's reading of the journal changed their lives for the better. He now understood what Easton wanted in the bedroom and he adjusted his act accordingly. Easton says, "he upped his f***ing game." She got what she was hoping for and the journaling continued. 

Easton also has a word of caution for ladies facing the same predicament that she was facing once: Don't leave out your journals for your husband to find.

BB Easton / Via instagram.com

She advises, "I do not recommend leaving [your journals] out for your husband to find. If you're trying to alter your husband's behavior, maybe just try having a conversation. If I had a time machine, I might just try that instead". Sane advice honestly. Maybe not all husbands would be thrilled after reading their wives' raunchy past in explicit detail.

She further adds, "I thought there might be some things in there that would help other people. Not just women. Anyone in a long term relationship. Nothing is 100 percent perfect. Writing the book showed me that the things I thought weren't perfect about my partner are actually what makes him perfect for me even though they drive me crazy. That's why we're still together. I wanted to illustrate that for other people. The love is there, there's a way to find your way back to that."

Have you watched Sex/Life yet? Let us know what you think in the comments.