When a non-fiction book reads like fiction, then you know the author is amazing! This book was not only entertaining but it gave information to the reader as well. The 3 case studies were similar yet different in aspects and I loved seeing how upper management really impacts the direction of a case regardless of facts. I loved her writing so much that I will be listening to her podcast as well.

read if you like:
📚 non-fiction
😷 munchausens by proxy
🕵🏻 journalist investigations

summary:
I’m not a typical non-fiction fan, but I had access to this ARC and decided to check it out given how much Munchausens by Proxy has been in the news lately. It tells the story of three women, Hope Ybarra, Brittany Phillips and Mary Welch, who spend their lives convincing people that their children have debilitating medical conditions, only for everyone to find out they were living a lie. It goes into detail about the background of medical child abuse, with a focus on state laws and the ability to prosecute parents as a result of them. Each story has a bit of a unique twist, but all three are heartbreaking in that these children’s lives are altered forever by the decisions and cons facilitated by their parents.

It doesn’t spend a lot of time focusing on the mental illness aspect of the disease, which I wanted to hear, but more on the victims and the challenges with bringing them to justice for their crimes. Honestly it’s not an area I had thought a lot about, but it’s disheartening to understand how challenging it is to find these parents guilty given the ambiguity of their crimes and lack of protection against them. It also raises interesting commentary on the doctors involved in these cases, and how especially with the shortage of health care professionals and the reliance on parents to relay their children’s symptoms, the ease in which they can convince doctors something is wrong when it isn’t.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC. If you’re interesting in MBP and the dynamics around it, check this out when it releases on February 4.

I enjoyed this book and its examination of this disorder which I have seen as a nurse. This book is an in depth examination of that . It is well researched and informative
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Interesting. Book on. Medical child abuse . Fast paced . Although there is a lot of characters to keep up with several cases being told .

Heart wrenching. Hard to believe that this happens, but wow just wow. Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This was an interesting read about 3 reported munchausen by proxy cases.

Such a fascinating look at MBP. The timelines and investigation of the abuse are chilling, but so interesting. A wonderful, informative read!

This was so interesting! I have heard different stories about this disease before, but nothing like this! I loved that it was narrative nonfiction, because it just sucked me in!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

An eye-opening look into Munchausen by Proxy and three specific cases of it that all ended very differently. Not easy to read at times because of the disturbing subject matter, but well-written and researched.

Get ready to have chills. Andrea and Mike knew how to write a book that completely shakes you! I was so engulfed in this book from the first chapter. I could not put it down. My husband was even asking what was happening next sitting next to me as I read. So good! highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

This book intrigued me from the start, as I’ve always found munchausen by proxy fascinating. The book follows the true stories of 3 separate cases of MBP. Absolutely horrific to think of a parent able to do these unspeakable things to their own children.

This was a quick read and kept me interested throughout!

Oh my gosh, this book was, like, such a wild ride! 🫨 It dives into some super intense stories about moms and their kids, but with a twist that totally left me shook. You get into the whole Munchausen by proxy thing (which is, like, SO crazy), and it’s all about how some moms do unthinkable things to get attention. The stories were super juicy and kinda horrifying at the same time. It’s definitely not your typical mom-next-door kinda vibe, you know? 😳

The book kept me hooked! Honestly, if you’re into true crime with a psychological twist, this will totally keep you flipping pages.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! 💖📖

So this book was fascinating to me. It takes apart what the authors consider three real life cases of Munchausen by proxy (MBP).

I think a lot of people have read or heard about MBP when came into the mainstream during the Patricia Stallings case in the late 1980s. I recall the movie made for TV event and it just comes out that the doctor's and others were wrong about the case and she was released after the prosecutors decided to not try her. I bring this up because I found this book to be overly heavy handed on MBP and does not show that hey sometimes doctors, CPS, and others are wrong. And one of the cases I thought was weird to include because I had so many questions left that I didn't agree with the authors on it.

The three cases that Dunlop and Weber get into are the following:

1) Hope Ybarra-many may have heard of this one because the mother in this one claimed to have cancer and was found out to be a lie. Also, I had someone in my hometown do this about two years ago (she claimed to be dying of breast cancer) and the fallout was epic and awful. I don't get why people do this, but this case did give me insight into how some of these people think.

2) Brittany Phillips-I never heard of this one, but I felt especially sad for the daughter in this one. But have to say, that parts of this about adoption felt a bit too "cultish" for my tastes.

3) Mary Welch-This was a weird one to include. Not to spoil readers or anything, but this outcome was different and I had way too many questions after this one to be on Dunlop and Weber's side for this.

That said, the main reason why I gave this book 3 stars was that I had a huge problem with Dunlop and Weber glossing over the real harm CPS has done in terms of other communities (Black and Hispanic). See the terrible mess of the Hart Family murders. Was that not a real case of MBP by the authors own definitions? In that case CPS ignored all of the warnings from teachers, neighbors, etc. and didn't investigate. And one wonders if they had been Black (the mothers in the Hart family) would more have been done? Also again, the Hart family shows what happens when CPS didn't seem to give a crap about keeping families together, they broke up families and would not allow other family members to adopt the children together who were related.

In addition, Dunlop and Weber keep taking swipes at Maya Kowalski's dead mother (Beata) which I thought was in poor taste, especially because according to their own indicators, not one person outside of the medical professionals agreed this was a MBP case. And the hospital in this case was found liable in her suicide.

See the below quote from People Magazine from November 2023.

<blockquote>Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital in Florida has been found liable in the wrongful death of Beata Kowalski, who died by suicide and whose ordeal was chronicled in the Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya.

According to CourtTV, which live streamed the decision, and WFTS and WTSP, the hospital was found liable of multiple claims, including the wrongful death of Beata and inflicting emotional distress on her, along with false imprisonment, battery, and inflicting emotional distress on her daughter Maya. The hospital was also found liable for the fraudulent billing of Jack Kowalski, Maya’s father.

Due to her requests, Beata was accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Through a psychological evaluation, it was eventually determined she did not have the mental illness, however, she was placed in state custody and remained in the hospital away from her family for more than three months, PEOPLE previously reported.
</blockquote>

In this case, Maya's condition did not improve after her mother was banned from seeing her along with the rest of the family. So I wonder why that part was not included unless Dunlop and Weber want to ignore that piece?

And can we please stop with the medical professionals are never wrong? Cause one of the above cases (Mary Welch) clearly shows the doctors in Minnesota for the Mary Welch case should be investigated for doing medical procedures based on a mother's say so with no medical evidence provided.

And also once again, this book pushes out those who adopt have a higher "Christian" calling with the one author (Dunlop) saying not that she agrees with it. The whole book just read poorly by the end for me.

I think the book could have been more even handed and pointed out the cases where CPS and hospitals/doctors were wrong and other cases when they were proven right and explain the many ways the doctors and hospitals are limited on what they can do and or don't know when they should call in the police to investigate.