Searching for Pilar, page 31
7. Discuss the aftermath of sex trafficking on the lives of victims. Many of the survivors, including Pilar, felt that they could not go home for fear of being shunned by their families or because they felt tainted, shamed, and undeserving of love. How much of that could be a realistic reaction of the family, and what can be attributed to the psychological effects of their abuse? Is there a difference between domestic and international victims?
8. Who do you consider to be the biggest “bad guy” of the story and why? Could he/she have chosen a different life?
9. Should John and his wife have been more helpful? Could John have realistically done anything other than use his connections to spur the FBI to action at the end? Were any of their concerns about the impact the situation would have on their own lives valid?
10. Do you think Marisa had anything to do with her father’s illegal business? Or was she completely innocent? Regardless, she had ulterior motives and tried to manipulate Diego. Are her actions excused because she was a girl in love, or does she deserve some blame for possibly endangering Diego and Mary when she spilled his secret mission?
11. Do you think the men who buy trafficked girls should be severely punished with prison sentences, fines, or public embarrassment? Would such drastic actions reduce the demand for trafficked girls? If not, what would?
12. Could Diego have rescued Pilar if he had not found Mary? What motivated Mary in helping Diego and ultimately rescuing Pilar?
13. How much do poverty, greed, and economics explain or excuse sex trafficking? Is sex trafficking inevitable in modern society?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PATRICIA HUNT HOLMES spent thirty years as a public finance attorney with the international law firm of Vinson & Elkins LLP. She was consistently listed in Best Lawyers in America, Texas Super Lawyers, and Top Lawyers in Houston and awarded the highest degree by her peers in Martindale Hubbell. She was a frequent speaker at national public finance and health-care conferences. Patricia has also served on the faculty of the University of Missouri—Columbia, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She has written and published in the fields of intellectual history and law.
Searching for Pilar is her first novel. The story involves Houstonians of all stations helping a young stranger from Mexico rescue his sister from the horrific life of a sex slave in Houston’s glitzy Galleria area men’s clubs and barrio cantinas. It is influenced by her career in law. It is also consistent with her experience as a member and board member of social service organizations in Houston that focus on helping women, including the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast Women’s Initiative, Dress for Success Houston, and the American Heart Association’s Circle of Red. She was a founding member and first board chair of Houston Justice for Our Neighbors, which provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrants.
For the past five years, she has been taking writing workshops with Inprint, associated with the outstanding University of Houston Creative Writing Program. She began to write Searching for Pilar after learning that Houston is one of the biggest hubs for sex trafficking in the country.
Patricia grew up in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, but has lived in Houston for forty-two years. She has two daughters, Hillary and Ashley, who have successful careers as an attorney and a geologist, and three adorable grandsons. She is an avid golfer and travels extensively.
Patricia holds a BA in English and history, an MA in history, and a Ph.D. in Russian and South Asian history with honors, all from the University of Missouri–Columbia. She received her JD from the University of Houston Law Center and was an editor on the Houston Law Review. In 2017, she was named to the Smithsonian Institution’s Texas Host Committee.
Patricia Hunt Holmes, Searching for Pilar
