...that I am up to no good.
No, actually, I solemnly swear that I was in fact pregnant and had a real baby, unlike this blogger who fabricated a pregnancy and birth. Her "baby" had defects incompatible with life, yet she chose to carry her to term. She had a home birth and her baby died several hours later. Only it turns out it wasn't a real baby but a doll and she was not pregnant.
Some people are very upset over this incident, feeling angry and betrayed and calling her all sorts of bad names. Here's my take on it: I'm married to a fiction writer. His job is to tell lies. More or less. So if someone wants to fabricate a pregnancy and a birth and can tell a compelling story, it really doesn't bother me all that much as long as no one gets hurt in the process.
So back to my original point: I really am in fact who I claim to be. (Or maybe not--perhaps I have exceedingly good photoshop and CGI skills and wrote a fake 300+ page dissertation...evil laughter)
Being upfront about writing fiction is one thing. This woman accepted gifts, among other things for her compulsive online lie. If I had been a follower, I too, would be angry.
ReplyDeleteGosh, it just seems like something else to get worked up about.
ReplyDeleteI was a follower, and I was angry... and I am still hurt. I even sent her pictures of my daughter "Hoping in Pink" Now I worry what kind of monster has pictures of my daughter, and so many more families...
ReplyDeleteI began commenting here, but my comment grew to an overwhelmingly long post that would have been obnoxious to leave in your comments (a bad habit of mine), so I just responded in my own post, over on my blog. Check it out, if you care to:
ReplyDeletehttp://thisisnotyourmothersblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-just-read-post-on-rixas-stand-and.html
I didn't follow this particular link, but I have heard stories like this before. I think it's OK to have a fantasy life. But, I have heard stories of women collecting donations for their fake fetuses on message boards with compelling stories of medical conditions. That's fraud.
ReplyDeleteAnd, again, speaking in general, not about this particular story, but that it is a type of mental illness to fabricate illness. As long as it stays in the internet, that's fine, but I would hate for this person to end up being someone who does a Munchausen's by proxy or something.
Huh huh. Munchausen by Proxy Server.
ReplyDelete[Feeling smug and clever, I just searched to see if anyone had ever thought of that before. Answer: Yes.]
Here's the difference: when I pick up one of your husband's novels, I'm entering into an explicit agreement between the author and reader. We both agree and understand that I'm about to hear a lie. That's the only thing that makes it ok to profit from telling it.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe it will make people think twice about sending personal pictures to faceless strangers.
She also lied to her very close friend about the whole thing. They were shocked to find out she was lying. Not okay to mess with people's feelings like that. And a lot of her followers were mothers who had lost babies.
ReplyDeleteoh dear... tragic for everyone involved i think and can understand the betrayal felt by her blog followers. the lady in question obviously has some big issues :(
ReplyDeleteunless your husband tried to con people into thinking his "lies" were real-life truths, and took there prayers, gifts, money, and time i don't think it is at all the same thing.
ReplyDelete