Charla was one of six children—five of them girls. Her mother led the “Modern Misses” 4-H Club, while her father, a scientist, was often away.

After a brief stint as a schoolteacher, Charla felt unfulfilled. She bought a Volkswagen bus, drove to Colorado, and opened a stained glass studio, teaching herself the art. In her 30s, she married, had a son, and moved to Steamboat Springs, where she wrote for the local paper and taught violin.

At 50, Charla took a one-year marriage sabbatical to rediscover herself. When she returned, she divorced and moved to Texas, where she answered an ad to become an escort at 54. Since then, she says, life has never been more fascinating, empowering, or financially rewarding.

As a teacher of erotic wellness, she created an intimacy school and launched a website to teach people how to enhance pleasure and communicate desires. She became a certified sexological bodyworker, earned a Ph.D., and wrote two books. She also wrote, produced, and starred in a one-woman show that celebrates the joy and power of sex work. Now in her 70s, she tours with the show, using it as a platform to advocate for sex work and bodily autonomy as fundamental human rights.