Katie.com: My Story

Synopsis

The book chronicles a life changing event in the author's life while growing up in New Canaan, Connecticut. At the age of 13, Tarbox met an older man in an Internet chat room, which led to a secret Internet relationship and, several months later, a meeting in a Texas motel where she was molested. The incident was interrupted by her mother and hotel security who were informed of the secret meeting by Tarbox's friend. Her attacker, Francis Kufrovich, was sentenced to 18 months in prison but the ordeal left Tarbox feeling emotionally abandoned after being labeled by her family, friends and community as promiscuous.

Reception

The title of the book was originally intended to be Girl.com but was changed to Katie.com despite the domain name being a personal web site for the British chat room operator Katie Jones. The book's title created the false perception that Jones was associated with the book and its story. According to Jones, she was contacted by attorney, Parry Aftab, who tried to coerce Jones into releasing control of the domain name. Jones refused and wrote about the incident in her blog causing Aftab to back down. When the paperback version was issued by Plume publishing, a member of the Penguin Group, in 2001, the copyright page of the book disavowed any connection with the real-life website. In 2004, Tarbox issued a press release apologizing to Jones and announcing the book's new title: A Girl's Life Online.