Oxford Public Library

Surviving Dirty John, my true story of love, lies, and murder, Debra Newell with M. William Phelps

eng

autobiography

platesillustrationsportraits

no index present

non fiction

Surviving Dirty John

1240263421

Debra Newell with M. William Phelps

my true story of love, lies, and murder

Debra Newell is nothing if not a survivor. By the time she met John Michael Meehan online, she lived through a near-fatal childhood illness, an attempted rape in her 20s, the traumatic death of her sister at the hands of her brother-in-law, four failed marriages, and a litany of dating disasters. But despite those tragedies, she seemed to have it all: adoring children, a successful business, a fabulous penthouse apartment. But there was something missing: the blinding, all-consuming love she first read about to occupy her time in her childhood sickbed. And she thought she found it with John Meehan. More than a tabloid-ready true-crime expose, Debra's story is one of trauma, denial, and deception. But it is also a relatable, inspirational, and hopeful story of forgiveness and, most of all, love. The lengths to which a woman will go to find--and keep--love; the boundaries children and parents cross to protect and save the people they love; the love one must find for oneself; and the ways the illusion of love can be used to manipulate and hurt. Told in Debra's words with the help of New York Times bestselling author M. William Phelps, this book is filled with exclusive stories about Debra and her family, previously unpublished photos, and the unvarnished, unapologetic, and unbelievable reality of "Surviving Dirty John.""Dirty John is a story of love, deceit, denial, revenge and ruin that ultimately leads to a story of survival that chronicled a time in Newell's life between October 2014 and August 2016. Due to her staggering real-life experiences, Newell now spends much of her time as an advocate for change and awareness helping women caught up in coercive controlling relationships. She is currently working to criminalize coercive control, a form of abuse that often goes unpunished because of the lack of awareness and existing legal ramifications"--, Provided by publisher