The Woman Who Fooled The World
Ratings2
Average rating4
15
Ratings2
Average rating4
Belle Gibson convinced the world she had healed herself of terminal brain cancer by eating a healthy diet. She built a global business based on her story. There was just one problem: she never had cancer in the first place. In 2015, journalists uncovered the truth behind Gibson's lies. This hero of the wellness world, with over 200,000 followers, international book deals, and a best-selling mobile app, was a fraud. She had lied about having cancer -- to her family and friends, to her business partners and publishers, and to the hundreds of thousands of people who were inspired by her, including real cancer survivors. Written by the two journalists who uncovered the details of Gibson's deception, The Woman Who Fooled the Worldtracks the 23-year-old's rise to fame and fall from grace. Told through interviews with the people who know her best, it explores the lure of alternative cancer treatments, exposes the darkness at the heart of the wellness and 'clean eating' movements, and reveals just how easy it is to manipulate people on social media. With the idea of 'clean eating' now routinely debunked by dietary experts, and growing scepticism about the authenticity of what we read online, The Woman Who Fooled the Worldis a timely and important book that answers not just how, but why, Gibson was able to fool so many.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is absolutely riveting. It's about an Australian Woman who pretended to have brain cancer and built a global “wellness” brand around that lie. It's written by the journalists who exposed her. As I read through the book I am jus wondering how Belle got away with it all. Why didn't Penguin, her publisher, do something when they had suspicions six months before her book was published? Why didn't Apple question her claims? Perhaps it was because the thought that anyone would fake brain cancer was incomprehensible. But one thing for sure - it had cast a lot of doubts on the wellness, alternative health industries which is a pity as I believe there's also a lot of truth in holistic nutrition.
A rare 4.5 stars from me. 0.5 stars minused because I felt they were too biased against alternative meds; I feel some balance is needed. While it's true what Belle did was inexcusable, it doesn't mean holistic nutrition is hogwash. If you google “Autoimmune Protocol” you'll find lots of anecdotal stories of people relieving the symptoms of their autoimmune conditions from that special diet. But yes, saying that cancer can be cured with nutrition alone feels fishy to me only because there isn't enough solid evidence for it yet - perhaps it works for SOME cancers, but not all.
