Surviving Dirty John: My True Story of Love, Lies, and Murder

by Debra Newell, M. William Phelps - contributor

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 adoring children, a successful business, a fabulous penthouse apartment.

But there was something 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.

Audible Audio

Published October 5, 2021

Reviews

[Deb H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened on spotify. Interesting book about a woman who makes bad choices about men in her life.

[Courtney]

It's very hard to understand how she could have chosen John over her kids.

I find the audiobook hard to listen to because of the author's halting, almost robotic cadence. I wonder why she did not have a professional read the book?

Also, she keeps mispronouncing anesthesiologist, which is driving me crazy.