Carla van Raay

Who is Carla van Raay?

Carla van Raay is an Australian author. Born in Tilburg, Netherlands, she and her family moved to Australia when she was young. Her father obtained work as a gardener at a convent school in Kew run by the Sisters, Faithful Companions of Jesus, founded in early 19th-century France. Through this employment, he was able to have her enrolled as a student at the school. After graduation she joined the Sisters who ran the school. She persevered in that life for 18 years, leaving the convent in 1969.

Four years after leaving the convent, van Raay chose to become a callgirl, as she had been naive about sex during her education and had experienced sexual abuse as a child. Her memoir, God's Callgirl, documents her childhood and career as sex worker, ending after her decision to cease that occupation. She was 65 years old at the time of the book's publication and a grandmother. She later wrote a sequel documenting that part of her life titled Desire.

Van Raay now works as a counselor for victims of sexual abuse.