Elizabeth GreenwoodCritiques

What a delight it was to read this again! Caitlin Doughty mentioned it in one of her videos in 2016, and I rushed to get a library copy. I scoured it for tips, deeply unhappy with my life, and was so interested in people's stories the book detailed. Unfortunately, my blossoming fantasy shattered when I learned that I was unlikely to successfully go missing, even, due to a need for daily medication for quality of life. I enjoyed the rest of the book, though, and sulked after. This year, I was looking for another book when I found this one again and eagerly dove in once more. I had forgotten enough stories that it was like reading them originally, but remembered enough of Elizabeth's journey that there were parts I was looking forward to again. I'd forgotten what jerks some of the men in here were, and seethed sometimes. I giggled at a fair amount of dark humor in here, and cracked up at other times. This was an informative, engaging read balanced with dark humor and definite honesty. I was glad to know I wasn't the only one who dreamt of fake-dying and starting over, and glad I didn't waste my time trying.

This book investigates what it takes to fake your death and how it might go wrong. Greenwood became interested in the topic when contemplating her debts and unrewarding job prospects. Unfulfilled in life, she thought maybe she could start all over from scratch.

She started out by finding someone who specializing in helping people disappear. Most people who decide to disappear are men with debt and women escaping abuse. It turns out that disappearing is a better plan than faking your death. Most people get caught because of their own stupid mistakes. And if you expect to collect any insurance money from your death, the chances of getting caught increase.

She interviewed a man who successfully disappeared for years only to turn himself in. She also interviewed a woman who is convinced that Michael Jackson faked his own death.

Disappearing and faking one’s own death is most perilous when it comes to relationships. Those willing to walk away from everyone in their lives are few and far between. Contacting loved ones is often too tempting to resist. Those who never do make contact leave heartache in their wake.

By the end of the book, Greenwood goes to Manila and secures a death certificate for herself. In a country where corruption is so common, securing your own record of death, however haphazardly put together, is fairly easy with the right connections and money.

She concludes with sage advice about what she had learned. Go for a hike, don’t collect (much) insurance money, get quality documents, commit to your new identity using your real first name, don’t look yourself up online, and don’t drive.

Faking death: not surprisingly, difficult.

Fascinating read. If you ever need to disappear...

This is a nice small book in a new series created by Simon & Schuster: Masters at Work. The author, Elizabeth Greenwood explores various yoga studios to see how they are set and how they teach. It is very informative. There are six line drawings in the book: Kingdom of the Mountain, pigeon, plow, mountain, bridge, and warrior. I can complete all of them except plow (which amounts to being a a variant of a straight leg forward fold where the legs are stretched back along the resting torso and the feet touch the ground like a plow).½

I've got a bit of a dark side, so when I saw this book on Netgalley, I requested it and crossed my fingers that the publisher would approve my request. It worked, and I was launched into the world of "pseudocide." Yes, the Michael Jackson "Believers" wore a bit thin. Luckily I read the book on my computer. Skipping pages was easy enough. It seemed like a pretty full examination of why, what, and how--even extending as far as Elizabeth Greenwood holding her own death certificate. She got to see what it would be like to be "dead," but not dead. She could have disappeared into the vapor, never to be heard from again, and re-entered the world of the living as someone else. Wow. What an opportunity.

It really is a journey that we're following in this book, and if you don't really click with the author, then you're not going to care about her journey.

In all, it was fine. I'm glad to have read it, and to have gotten it off my tbr pile.

This is a book about a very interesting subject that was made incredibly tedious by the way it was written. Greenwood couldn't seem to decide whether she was writing a piece of journalism or a memoir; spread throughout the profiles of individuals involved in death fraud are passages that go on at length about her reasons for embarking on this project and snarky asides about her surroundings. Her stated reason for becoming interested in the subject (massive student loan debt), was reiterated over and over again, and every time I couldn't tell if it was supposed to endear me to her quest or if she was simply poking fun at herself; either way it just came off as overly melodramatic and eventually boring, and her very confessional epilogue was frankly embarrassing and really unnecessary. Overall I just wish I had read this exact book by a completely different author.

Best for: Anyone interested in a good (failed) crime story, or the human desire to just leave it all behind.

In a nutshell: Author Elizabeth Greenwood explores the lengths (mostly men, usually arrogant) go through to leave behind their lives.

Line that sticks with me: N/A (didn’t have a pen with me when reading it)

Why I chose it: Do you listen to the “Wine and Crime” podcast? Because it’s great. And they did a whole episode on faking one’s death, including an interview with the author.

Review:
It started with an idea the author had, after realizing how much student loan debt she had, and how unlikely it would be that she could pay it off any time soon. And since student loan debt can’t be discharged through bankruptcy, the author briefly flirted with the fantasy of just leaving it behind the only way she could - if she ‘died.’

While she didn’t end up faking her own death (at least, not exactly, although she does have her own death certificate, courtesy of a contact in the Philippines), she decided to look into the people who do fake their own deaths.

Of course because of the nature of the topic, Ms. Greenwood can only discuss people who failed at faking their own death. There are people who have succeeded, I’m sure, but because they did, we don’t know they did. And while the people who fake their own deaths (and get caught) are overwhelmingly men, it’s unclear if there are women who do it and are just more successful at it, or if women are less likely to do it because they generally feel less able to walk away.

Ms. Greenwood doesn’t just focus on the people who do the faking - she also talks to the investigators who look into possible life insurance fraud, as well as the children whose fathers left. And in one unexpected chapter, she looks into those who believe that famous people (namely, Michael Jackson fans) faked their own deaths.

This is, admittedly, my kind of book. I enjoy books that look into death and crime, and I enjoy non-fiction. So while I was already primed to enjoy it, I think I am being fair when I say that this is a really good book.

Interesting overall, but the part about the Believers (who think Michael Jackson / Tupac / Elvis are still alive) went on too long.

It all starts with giving a f**k about not giving a f**k. What do you want to leave behind? Debt? Pain? A sordid criminal past? Why not fake your own death?! Greenwood examines not only the history of death fraud, but the motivations and moxie it takes to do the deed. She asks questions like why is death fraud more practiced by men than women? And what happens to grieving loved ones who discover (or are in on) the deception? And with such a tricky topic to research--the success rate of death fakers is, by its very nature, impossible to quantify--Greenwood turns to the only people whose accounts she can gather: the investigators, the caught, the loved ones left behind.

I've got a bit of a dark side, so when I saw this book on Netgalley, I requested it and crossed my fingers that the publisher would approve my request. It worked, and I was launched into the world of "pseudocide." Yes, the Michael Jackson "Believers" wore a bit thin. Luckily I read the book on my computer. Skipping pages was easy enough. It seemed like a pretty full examination of why, what, and how--even extending as far as Elizabeth Greenwood holding her own death certificate. She got to see what it would be like to be "dead," but not dead. She could have disappeared into the vapor, never to be heard from again, and re-entered the world of the living as someone else. Wow. What an opportunity.

The question, is it possible to fake your own death in the 21st century, begs an answer and Elizabeth Greenwood delivers! This was a very interesting book and I feel a tad smarter for having read it.

The author was 27 when she first started pondering if she could fake her own death in order to get out of crushing debt (obtained in the pursuit of her education). That initial, mostly-innocent question lead her to dig deeper as she found real-life examples of people who did just that and got away with it, at least for a time. Sam Israel is our first example. He was a hedge fund manager who was indicted for a Ponzi scheme. He faked his suicide to avoid a lengthy prison sentence. It was only a few years before he was caught. His faked suicide involved ‘drowning’, which is apparently always under suspicion of being possible death fraud if no body is recovered. Hear that, Sherlock?

Frank Ahearn, who co-wrote How to Disappear with Eileen C. Horan, was a most interesting character in this non-fiction. He used to be a skip tracer and later became a consultant on how to disappear properly. This part of the book makes a distinction between faking one’s own death and simply disappearing. The latter is simpler and safer in several regards. If someone files for death insurance payout or a death certificate, then insurance companies and officials may well get involved to verify that one is truly dead. If you simply want to disappear, then often there are no officials of any kind looking into it. Ahearn pops in and out of the book as the author had many interesting conversations with him and I quite enjoyed his take on things.

Private investigator Steve Rambam, inspiration for a character in Kinky Firedman’s mystery novels, makes an appearance in this book. He’s been in the business of tracking people down for decades and he provides a different view than Ahearn on the subjects of disappearing and death fraud. While his sections weren’t as entertaining as some others, he did provide some good sense info and kept the author grounded in what is possible.

For me, the oddest section was on the group of Michael Jackson fans who truly believe he faked his own death and plans to return to the public eye at some point. The author did a great job of both expressing her skepticism but also respecting the ardor of these fans. Of course, fans claiming a celebrity’s death was faked is nothing new but it was interesting to see how grounded these fans were – they hunted for clues in documents and photos instead of simply pulling aliens into the mix.

Traveling to England, the author interviews the Canoe Man, John Darwin. He successfully faked his own death for five years before reemerging, initially claiming amnesia. This case really brought home what a faked death can do to family and friends. Also, it’s a fine example of lack of planning when it comes to the long haul.

Finally, at the end of the book we venture with the author to the Philippines to meet Snookie and Bong, professionals of many jobs. They’re bodyguards, personal safety trainers, and fixers. They were the most entertaining part of the book, perhaps because their everyday life is so very different from mine.

Even if you’re not interested in disappearing or faking your suicide, this is a very entertaining book. Is it morally wrong to fake your death? Probably. Is it illegal to simply disappear, never filing a death certificate? In many cases, no. Is this a fascinating subject? Yes!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The Narration: Arden Hammersmith (which is a very cool name!) was a good fit for this book. She did do character voices for the various people the author interviewed. She also sounded interested in the subject herself, never dropping into a monotone. There were little touches of emotion here and there and she did a good job of imbuing the narration with those emotions.

I'm not planning to fake my own death. But if I ever feel the need . . . a primer!

Thanks to Elizabeth Greenwood, I now know what "pseudocide" is. Her dark and quirky book about death fraud is fascinating stuff. She exposes us to a new world that most of us know little or nothing about. It's often very funny (albeit in a grim sort of way). As she writes: "As ideas go, faking your own death is one of those things -- like homeschooling or a bad haircut -- that is, to me at least, comedic gold."

Greenwood teases us with the central conceit that she is tempted to fake her death to escape a mountain of student loan debt. I don't think we're truly supposed to believe she's serious about this (or is she?!), but it's an intriguing way to lead us into into the death fraud "industry." We meet villains, experts, and con artists along the way. And there are tips galore . . . for those inclined to use them.

But as funny as Greenwood can be, her tone and style for me too easily veers in the direction of smart-ass. Her book often feels too clever by half -- like we're always on the inside of the joke (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), which becomes tedious. And the chapter on Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, Elvis, et al. simply doesn't belong here. It detracted from what was successful about her book.

This was mostly good plain fun, but it didn't rise above that level for me.

(Thanks to Simon & Schuster for an advance copy via a giveaway. Receiving a free copy did not affect the content of my review.)

You might as well live

Who knew there was a whole industry dedicated helping people escape their lives, fake their deaths – and track down the perps who do it? Playing Dead is an investigation by a potential client, at least she thinks so until she investigates the ins and outs of death fraud, or pseudocide, as insiders call it.

Elizabeth Greenwood is obsessed about her student debt and wants to start over, elsewhere. This leads her on an investigative mission - over five years. She looks at it from every angle: the detectives, the perps, and their families. There is also a forgettable chapter on conspiracy theorists – those who dedicate their lives to proving Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley faked their deaths and are still out there. They have incontrovertible proof up the wazoo, if anyone wants to see.

There two flavors to playing dead: fake death and disappearance. Far more men do it than women, as far as we know, meaning at least that more men get caught than women. It’s mostly done for insurance money, a fine old scam that has existed as long as there have been insurance companies. The biggest risk of failure seems to be the loneliness factor - starting over in a foreign country, without the connection to family, friends or associates – on pain of capture. Many fail out of plain sloppiness and stupidity.

There is a grating cognitive dissonance in Playing Dead. Greenwood treats it lightly, trying to be funny all the time. There’s the self-deprecation, the pop culture references and the admission she is uncomfortable about all this, all the time. It detracts from her flow and her findings and minimizes her accomplishment. Is this an exposé of a shady industry, or is it pop fluff? Treated as investigative journalism, the book has real value. As a personal memoir of someone who didn’t actually do this herself, and constantly points to her own insecurities and lack of professionalism, it is far less.

David Wineberg