Elizabeth Greenwood

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Stop me if you've heard this one:

An insurance salesman is given a few months to live. With his wife's encouragement, he goes on the trip of a lifetime, charging it all to credit cards, knowing his wife will be able to pay it off with his life insurance payout. Then the doctor calls and says the prognosis was actually wrong. He's not dying. Faced with crippling debt, he decides to fake his own death. Eventually he finds out it was all a scam to get him out of the picture so that his wife show more could marry the doctor.

For some inexplicable reason, the plot of a crappy Jerry Lewis movie (Hook, Line, and Sinker, 1969) that I watched on TV almost 30 years ago has stuck with me -- the idea of cutting all ties and disappearing. Ms. Greenwood finds herself similarly fascinated with real-life people who have faked their own deaths, whether for the insurance pay-out, to escape a prison sentence, or just to get away from their unsatisfactory lives. Overwhelmed with student loans and the banality of everyday life, the author finds herself googling "how to fake your own death." She even goes so far as to get a fake death certificate, a scene which opens the book, but doesn't play out the way you might expect.

Overall, this was an interesting exploration of a random subject that I find fascinating. She interviews people who have unsuccessfully faked their own deaths (committed pseudocide in professional terms), because obviously we'll never know about the successful ones. Their reasons, methods, and the aftermaths all made for good reading, but sometimes Greenwood philosophizes too deeply and includes more of her own drama than I care to read about. show less