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1 oeuvres 157 utilisateurs 8 critiques

Œuvres de Axton Betz-Hamilton

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Wow. A gripping and sad memoir of a woman who has lost her entire life to identity theft, and still can't quite connect to others.

Not only did it cast a pall over her childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, but Axton then spent her twenties and early thirties getting advanced degrees that focused on identity theft. It has shaped every aspect of her life.
 
Signalé
xaverie | 7 autres critiques | Apr 3, 2023 |
powerful story of lies and manipulation

This is as well-written as any novel. I would recommend it to anyone: you don't have to be a victim of identity theft or financial exploitation to appreciate it, but if you grew up in a disturbed family dynamic it may be triggering.

Part of the reason it would appeal widely, and simultaneously part of the reason that it might be triggering, is that the financial shenanigans are occurring in the context of mental illness and just plain meanness, psychological manipulation, denial, lies, and emotional abuse along with estrangement (cutoffs, in family-therapy speak) and infidelity. It's a morass of dysfunction even without the money factor.

You find yourself rooting for Axton as she studies her way out of there, all the way to a Ph.D. and national recognition in her field. It's like a major plot thread in a novel: Will she make it? Yes! And part of what makes this such a powerful read is that she is so frank about the scars that she bears, about the tremendous cost at which she made it out, what it's still costing her.

All of this is only slowly revealed, however, as the outline of the book follows the author's growing traumatization, understanding/awareness, and power as she ages and matures. This actually makes it into kind of a page-turner: You really want to know what happens next! One night I stayed up two hours late reading a particularly intense section, another day I lost an hour of work on it. I did think I had it figured out about halfway through, much in the same way that one does while reading a murder mystery, but reviewers who complain about this miss the point: People who exploit others in this manner are (otherwise they couldn't do it) masters at deceit, taking advantage of the very traits that we prize in ourselves and others--honesty, faith, loyalty, love, and yes, sometimes blind trust in the very relatives, neighbors, friends or professionals who we count on to have our backs, not stab us in same. The victims don't have our perspective, our advantage of hindsight conferred by authors of memoirs or biographies.

It was disturbing, but I'm not sorry I read it, if only because I learned something new and 'met' someone in Dr. Betz-Hamilton that I can like and admire. If you're on the fence about reading it, I'd say go for it.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
DocWood | 7 autres critiques | Nov 20, 2022 |
I wish I had not tuned into this author's library program until AFTER I had read the book because she told us all about it and revealed who stole her identity. Had I read it first I am sure I would have been way more shocked - but as I read this memoir I knew what was coming. When Axton was a child her parents had their identity stolen and it made them fearful of everyone - who was doing this to them, why were checks bouncing and utilities getting cut off. It led for a lonely childhood. When she finally flew the coop and left for college, Axton was excited to leave the fear behind her and start the next chapter of her life, but unfortunately when she goes to get her own apartment she discovers that her credit is in the bottom 2% - it's beyond horrible. It turns out it wasn't just her parents with stolen identities - her had been too. Credit cards taken out in her name when she was just a child, the whole gambit. Axton makes it her mission to get to the bottom of it but sometimes the answers are worse than the problems. Heartbreaking - what a messed up little family.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
ecataldi | 7 autres critiques | Aug 18, 2021 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
1
Membres
157
Popularité
#133,743
Évaluation
3.9
Critiques
8
ISBN
9

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