There Is No Ethan

How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish

De: Anna Akbari

Narrado por: Anna Akbari, Justin Price

Part memoir, part explosive window into the mind of a catfisher, a thrilling personal account of three women coming face-to-face with an internet predator and teaming up to expose them.

In 2011, three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this fascinating man. His detailed excuses about broken webcams and complicated international calling plans seemed believable, as did last minute trip cancellations. After all, why would he lie? Ethan wasn't after money—he never convinced his marks to shell out thousands of dollars for some imagined crisis. Rather, he ensnared these women in a web of intense emotional intimacy. After the trio independently began to question inconsistencies in their new flame's stories, they managed to find one another and uncover a greater deception than they could've ever imagined. As Anna Akbari and the women untangled their catfish’s web, they found other victims and realized that without a proper crime, there was no legal reason for “Ethan” to ever stop.

THERE IS NO ETHAN catalogues Akbari's experience as both victim and observer. By looking at the bigger picture of where these stories unfold—a world where technology mediates our relationships; where words and images are easily manipulated; and where truth, reality, and identity have become slippery terms—Akbari gives a page-turning and riveting examination of why stories like Ethan's matter for us all.

©2024 Anna Akbari (P)2024 Grand Central Publishing

Wow! The story came with receipts!

Very well told and brought light to an interesting and complex discussion at the end of the book. The author and the other women who shared their experiences are brave to share their vulnerability about being catfished. This book held nothing back when revealing the catfish’s identity! Great read!

Book is great

Ok, the book is great. That being said, I don’t know if it’s crazier the catfisher is a NJ MD (Google Emily Marantz MD) or that someone able to be strung along 2+ years by this person online accepting continious excuses on why they couldn’t talk or meet. She fell in love with text on a screen.

Ok, I can see how the author got sucked in; she wised up after 2 mos. Thats still a long time & starting a relationship with someone who lives spends their time residing in another city & another country just seems like a terrible idea. I’m not victim blaming, I’m asking the question how could this be possible?

Anyway, the bizzare situation that makes up this whole story makes an amazing book. Even more crazy is how after the jig was up some of the women keep corresponding with this catfisher on the premise of “getting answers” & “stopping her”. Unfortunately messing with people online isn’t a crime, the smart thing would’ve been to cease all correspondence & move on.

But no.

My review on “There Ia No Ethan”

I listened to the audio book version and it seemed slow at first. Going back and forth on what would be emails.the last quarter of the book is where it became interesting. The story line is interesting and how this all panned out.

Excellent narration

This was very well written and narrated. Man am I angry about this. The nerve "Ethan" had

Best read

A true story that will captivate you from beginning to end. So well written by the author you’ll find yourself audibly saying, “ And THEN what happened”? Excellent read.

Couldn’t stop listening

This true life drama—was it a crime? —takes you on a roller coaster emotional ride, finally exposing a sick predator who gets caught out. The smart victims turn the table to uncover the truth. A shocking reveal! A great audio book.

Well done book

Great narration. Interesting story. Crazy situation. It’s hard to believe people like this actually exist.

Interesting if puzzling...

An interesting story well told with a proper amount of detail. But as I read about these women, I was so puzzled by their behaviors that I would periodically have to remind myself that this really happened and wasn't just a work of fiction. This was an account of educated, intelligent women who evidently had enjoyed romantic relationships, had satisfying careers, in other words had seemingly normal lifestyles. Yet they allowed a stranger they could never meet in person and with whom they never had a phone conversation to manipulate and humiliate them. I just couldn't understand their willingness, nor could I figure out how the 'puppetmaster' found the time to carry on so many complicated schemes at one time. Definitely could not identify with any of the characters.

I would have been happier and more interested if I had googled this and read the online articles.

Annoyed by the voices of the narrators, and the dialogue was painful to listen to. I kept turning it off in frustration and then forcing myself to listen. Ultimately, I would have enjoyed this as a podcast or article. I was waiting to be more interested when it finally came to the discovery and confrontation. The only interest was the response of the perpetrator. I was expecting more depth but it was more an accounting of what happened with no real story or depth or descriptors of experience. I regret using my credit on this and wish I had just googled the story instead.

How Can Someone Be So Dumb

Very good book if you like to listen to true crime, psycological type books. It's amazing that so many women can be taken in by a scam artist and even more amazing that the catfisher can be so brilliant but horrible at the same time.

Very good book. Worth the credit or dollars.