The Woman Who Wasn't There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception by Robin Gaby Fisher

Jul 09, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Carol by: BookPage

Shelves: non-fiction

This is one of those OMG books. All I can say is it's a good thing that I knew the outcome going in.

I'm giving this 4 stars but this is not a story that warrants "like" I'm not going to say anything more but would love to read or discuss this book with a group. This would allow an exploration of the psychological make-up of the people whose stories are told.

One thing I really liked about this book was how the authors laid out the story. They could have chosen to do it in a far different way. I...more

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May 08, 2012 Mjdrean rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was about to give this book 3 stars until I realized it wasn't the writing I didn't like--- it was the woman in the book. The writing is worth 4 stars. The woman needs, needs? Needs everything, a spanking, a psychiatrist, a man, a year in jail, an intervention, a reality check. She doesn't need gall. There were so many victims from 9/11 and now she's left those victims victimized all over again. Conning runs in her family evidently, her father and brother spent time in a Spanish prison for fra...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Claire Cameron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Interesting account of the story, but it stopped short of delving deeper into the psychology of lies. This was not the intention of the authors to do so, rather it is what I would have been interested in. It is certainly a page turner. I read it in one sitting.

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May 19, 2013 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This fascinating book is about a woman, Alicia Head, whose greatest achievement is being a victim – and she ultimately, epically failed in that, too. Alicia is a mentally disturbed individual, whose clinical diagnosis is unknown. But the authors summarized it best. Alicia is a “covetous, self-serving narcissist…someone who could heal the deepest wounds and also inflict them.” Alicia’s alternate ego, Tania Head, reminds us of Tyler Durden of Fight Club – someone who joined support groups for vict...more This fascinating book is about a woman, Alicia Head, whose greatest achievement is being a victim – and she ultimately, epically failed in that, too. Alicia is a mentally disturbed individual, whose clinical diagnosis is unknown. But the authors summarized it best. Alicia is a “covetous, self-serving narcissist…someone who could heal the deepest wounds and also inflict them.” Alicia’s alternate ego, Tania Head, reminds us of Tyler Durden of Fight Club – someone who joined support groups for victims of terminable diseases, pretending to be a fellow victim, finding relief among the broken and unsuspecting. Except the support group members here are real and the context is extreme – survivors of September 11, one of the most horrific human acts in modern history. Tania’s deception exceeds all bounds of decency – consciously exploiting the suffering of many, fabricating contexts to refocus the attention on her suffering through staged personal tragedies with absolutely no shame or apology.

What’s fascinating about this story is the implication about humanity. Throughout, you wonder if it is truly possible for a human being to believe that her needs are paramount – to the point of causing deep mental anguish in trusting friends with such reckless disregard? Do people like that really exist – who lure people into their sick mind, trap them in it without their knowledge and consent, by giving these people what they clearly need on the pretense of altruism and then later collect the unnamed price? Here, Alicia provided a form of healing to survivors of September 11 by using her public relations and organization skills to give this group of survivors national recognition and voice on the issue of September 11. Never mind that her stories were fabricated, but one cannot overlook her callousness, and at times intentional act of exacting emotional injury, toward those who didn’t do what she wants when she wanted. And what is utterly unforgivable is in the end she held the position that all the harm she did were JUST payments for the benefits she provided the nonprofit and its members.

This is truly a fascinating window to that subset of broken human beings – arguably the most dangerous kind, because the trick you into their world through staged provisions that are responsive to your needs, and then treat you like their chattel subject to their will, at times evil and extremely harm, in perpetuity. This book is a jarring reminder that those people exist – and the wisdom in spotting them and protecting against their disorder by not allowing them in your life.
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Oct 26, 2012 Su rated it 2 of 5 stars

I tend to really like books in which someone perpetrates an extensive scam, and I expected to like this book about a woman who not only pretended to be a 9/11 survivor but invented a story that made her an uber-survivor. She claimed to have been one of only 19 people who were above the point of impact and went on to survive while her fiance (or sometimes husband; she could never quite get this part of the story straight) died in the other tower. The drama of her story and the force of her charis...more I tend to really like books in which someone perpetrates an extensive scam, and I expected to like this book about a woman who not only pretended to be a 9/11 survivor but invented a story that made her an uber-survivor. She claimed to have been one of only 19 people who were above the point of impact and went on to survive while her fiance (or sometimes husband; she could never quite get this part of the story straight) died in the other tower. The drama of her story and the force of her charismatic personality led her to be not only a survivor but the leader of an influential survivors' support and advocacy group; not only to be one of the tour guides at Ground Zero but to be the one chosen to lead the inaugural tour, taking Rudy Giuliani and other VIPs around the site.

Of course, it was all a lie, and the lie was revealed when a New York Times reporter set out to do a story on her and couldn't confirm any of the details she'd provided.

I'm fascinated by this kind of story. There's something about the psychology of people who engage in this kind of pretense that I find very interesting.

Unfortunately, this isn't a very good book. It's written in the style-free voice of the ghostwriter, for one thing. For another, the authors seem to have thought that a pure narrative was enough: this happened, then this happened, then this happened. Since from the very beginning you know that Tania Head is lying, a long, detailed narrative of her lies is not as compelling as it might otherwise be. And then her lies are revealed, she disappears, and the book just sort of ends. The authors spend a little time on discussing who she really was and where she came from, but there's no analysis. If I had written this book, I'd have talked to psychologists who are experienced with people who pull victim scams--like folks who pretend to have cancer--to get some insight into why a person woulld do this kind of thing. I'd have talked more to people from Tania Head's past to get some insight into how she became a person who would do somthing like this. But the authors are content, instead, to simply provide her real name and some biographical details.

It's a good story. It's just not a very good book.(less)

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Aug 27, 2012 Ciara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, read-in-2012

i totally just read this for the salaciousness factor. it's definitely not a great book, & it's definitely not well-written. it's kind of like true crime in its pacing & level of literary sophistication. it tells the true story of a woman, tania head, who claimed to have been working in the world trade center on 9/11. supposedly she was in her office when the first plane hit the first tower. she & her co-workers decided to leave the building, but the second plane hit their building &...more i totally just read this for the salaciousness factor. it's definitely not a great book, & it's definitely not well-written. it's kind of like true crime in its pacing & level of literary sophistication. it tells the true story of a woman, tania head, who claimed to have been working in the world trade center on 9/11. supposedly she was in her office when the first plane hit the first tower. she & her co-workers decided to leave the building, but the second plane hit their building & tore through the floor with the elevator lobby while they were there, waiting for elevators. almost everyone on the floor was killed instantly, & tania's arm was almost completely severed. she says a man wearing a red bandana emerged from the gloom & guided her to the stairwell. she made her way down a few stories, but just when she thought she couldn't go, a firefighter scooped her up & carried her outside. they were able to dive under an ambulance just as the towers collapsed.

adding to this horrific tale of survival, she also told people that she was engaged to be married, & her fiance worked in the other tower. she said they had argued that morning & he had called her & asked her to go for bagels in the lobby, which could have saved his life. she declined. he died when the first plane hit.

tania became a big deal in the 9/11 survivor community, both because of her unique story (there were survivors, & there were people who had lost loved ones, but tania was one of the few that enbodied both roles), & because of her dedication to raising awareness of survivors, who felt they were being marginalized in favor of families of the deceased. she also had an incredibly knack for figuring out how to talk to the right people & get things done. she was charismatic & people wanted to be around her. people wanted to do what she wanted to have done. & it came as a real blow to all of them when the truth came out: tania's entire story was a fiction. she had painstakingly researched the events of 9/11, picking up details from survivor accounts she read online & in newspapers. she selected her "fiance"'s name from a list of the deceased, & was careful never to allow any of her 9/11 survivor friends to see her with his family, claiming that the commemoration events were too difficult for them. she manipulated everyone around her, including the family of the man in the red bandana (a real person who died in the towers trying to save other people; tania had read an account of a survivor that was led to the stairwell by this man). she had used her influence to sow seeds of doubt about other people in the survivor community, eventually installing herself as the chairperson of their advocacy group & securing a prestigious position as a tour guide at ground zero, being the first to walk the governor & mayor through the exhibits.

the book was co-written with a documentary filmmaker that had been making a movie about the survivors, & had become close with tania. he was just one of many that was shocked by the revelations when they came to light. as such, the book has a very axe-grinding feel to it...but at the same time, i mean, jesus christ. pretending to have survived 9/11 is a pretty shockingly fucked up thing to do.

this really isn't the kind of book i usually read, & i kind of hate to say that such a fucked up story was "fun" to read. but...it kind of was. it was a page-turner, at least. i stayed up until 3am so i could see how the whole thing resolved. (less)

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Aug 10, 2012 Anita Dalton rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: hoaxes, non-fiction

This book was sort of entertaining but at the end of it all, the authors knew nothing about Tania Head other than that she decided to play a 9/11 victim and tell all kinds of unlikely lies. These lies brought her to the forefront of the 9/11 survivor movement and made her a star of sorts.

The book explains what she did and how a handful of people became her pets as she scammed and lied, but at no point does this book ever explain Tania Head. We ended up knowing remarkably little about her real l...more This book was sort of entertaining but at the end of it all, the authors knew nothing about Tania Head other than that she decided to play a 9/11 victim and tell all kinds of unlikely lies. These lies brought her to the forefront of the 9/11 survivor movement and made her a star of sorts.

The book explains what she did and how a handful of people became her pets as she scammed and lied, but at no point does this book ever explain Tania Head. We ended up knowing remarkably little about her real life. We got snippets from her childhood but we know nothing about Tania or her motivations.

Of course, Tania herself was unwilling to discuss anything. But when you can't get enough information to write a book you don't write a book. The reactions of a handful of people whose lives we know very little about don't really complete the picture. The reaction of one high school friend who was able to tell us very little about Head wasn't enough. All we know is that this strange little woman scammed people, which could have been covered in a Vanity Fair article.

Most important is that we never really get the reaction of the family of the key victim in this - the man Tania said she married, a man who died in the attacks on 9/11. This man never knew her, and she used his name openly in the public as her husband. It was a key part of her scam. Out of sensitivity to the family that was dragged into this ridiculous charade, they do not discuss the man, his family, their reaction or anything that would give a real human face to the harm Tania Head did.

I can understand that. I really can. But as I said above, if you don't have enough information to write a compelling narrative, you don't write one.

So we have 287 pages, very short chapters, of a woman telling lies no one should have been able to believe. She is telling them to an audience whose lives ultimately mean nothing to us other than respecting their experiences on that horrible day because they're just foils to a woman whose lies never really could stand in the light of day. We know nothing about Head or her motivations other than that she must have a lot of charisma in order for people to have bought her crappy lies. We know nothing about the impact on the survivor community other than the handful of one dimensional side players who played a foil to Head.

All of this is problematic when you realize that none of Tania Head's lies were worth a damn. This was not a woman who could weave a seamless narrative. She was extremely obese and indicated that a young man carried her out of the building. She said her arm was hanging by a few ligaments and was in the hospital for weeks but could not speak of the doctors or the nurses who helped her. She described the man she claimed she was married to as either her husband or her fiance. She never produced items for a 9/11 memorial museum that she promised. Not a single person who survived remembered seeing her in the Towers. And of course, the company she worked for never, ever heard of her. And yet she got away with this narrative for years. And we don't know why because the pictures of Tania are not of a woman whose appearance speaks of much charm and the descriptions of her speeches don't really seem like they would have much resonance.

The most annoying element of this book is that in most books wherein we are treated to the unfolding of a scam, we get to see how someone uncovers the scam. In this book the hoax is unraveled by the New York Times because they finally asked all the questions any sane person should have asked. But we are not privy to the process the reporter went through as they uncovered Tania's lies. One of the most compelling elements of a book like this and we are not permitted to see it as it happens. We get all the lies and all the people buying the lies that no reasonable person would have bought and we don't even get the catharsis of watching as it unravels for Head. That's a problem.

And all of this is even more problematic if you are looking at paying $26 for a book that cannot tell you most of the story you need to know in order to give a crap. (less)

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Jul 07, 2012 D.M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: true-crime, psychology

I bought this book about Tania Head's deception of being a survivor of the attack on the twin towers (9/11), to try to learn more about the psychological profile of someone who lies, goes to extreme lengths of fraud, for the sake of gaining attention. At the end of reading it, I was horror struck for the real survivors, and after what they had been through on that day in September 2001, that they had four years of being in close contact with Head to then to discover that her survivor's tale was...more I bought this book about Tania Head's deception of being a survivor of the attack on the twin towers (9/11), to try to learn more about the psychological profile of someone who lies, goes to extreme lengths of fraud, for the sake of gaining attention. At the end of reading it, I was horror struck for the real survivors, and after what they had been through on that day in September 2001, that they had four years of being in close contact with Head to then to discover that her survivor's tale was a complete fabrication. And she had been one of their most inspiring figures!

It is amazing to think that in four years, no one had investigated her, for they were all still recovering emotionally. What Head relied upon was their empathetic trust. The term I would use to describe what Head did is "emotional vampirism".

One thought I'd like to add from reading this book and that's about personality fraud. For there's a commonality for human connection, especially in crisis or catastrophic times. Tania Head fed from them all, all those who admired her for qualities such as courage, benevolence and leadership style (though little did they realise, during those four years, that a liar could appear so 'lovely' to them).

And there's cautionary tale in that, for it might be pause to think that when it comes to social interactions especially on the internet, that there are those who would commit whole 'personality fraud' for the sake of emotional vampirism, similar to Head's. The author called it narcissism (citing last page of the narration in the book) and with that psychological description I would heartily agree. So, one might ask oneself, where can trust be placed? It was hard on the survivors after the her fraud was revealed too, for they felt that she was attempting to defraud them with fake posts on their survivors' network site. Stalking after the fact? (This reminds me also of the film doco Catfish). And if I hadn't myself had an experience with someone who was pretending they were someone they were not on the internet, then maybe I would not have understood how easily Head got away with her crime of false witness for so long. She was a clever manipulator.

It's an easy to read book and fascinating. I am still interested in learning more about the psychological make-up of the 'lying fraud' and the effects they can have on those that misplace trust to them.(less)

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May 29, 2012 Maciek rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, non-fiction, biography, true-crime

This short book which can be read in one or two sittings, though the story it describes is anything but short: the astounding story of Tania Head, the woman who on 9/11/2001 was at the 78th floor of World Trade Center 2 (The South Tower) when United Airlines 175 hit that floor, making her one of the very few who survived the direct impact. Badly burned on her arm, she managed to escape ftom the tower, crawling through rubble, witnessing the horror first hand. Her fiance, Dave, didn't make it: he...more This short book which can be read in one or two sittings, though the story it describes is anything but short: the astounding story of Tania Head, the woman who on 9/11/2001 was at the 78th floor of World Trade Center 2 (The South Tower) when United Airlines 175 hit that floor, making her one of the very few who survived the direct impact. Badly burned on her arm, she managed to escape ftom the tower, crawling through rubble, witnessing the horror first hand. Her fiance, Dave, didn't make it: he was trapped in the North Tower as it collapsed. Tania joined a survivor support group and became very active, even negotiation access to Ground Zero for survivors, which was something they didn't have before. She became the guide at the site of the attacks, recounting her story in vivid detail, introducing herself as a person who survived it. Important politcal figures such as former NYC major Rudy Giulianim current major Mike Bloomberg and even state governor George Pataki have been captivated by her story. She made speeches at colleges, at support groups. Thousands of people have been moved by her story, and she became a survival authority; the representant and voice for those who lived through and after the 9/11 tragedy, coping with her own experiences and helping others survive theirs.

Only her story is completely, entirely made up. Tania Head was not at the towers when the planes hit.Her real name is not even Tania, but Alicia; Alicia Estevez Head. She was not a US citizen; her claims of degrees from Harvard and Stanford are without support, as there is no record of her being a student at these institutions. Merryl Lynch, the firm where she claims to have worked in World Trade Center has never heard of her; her supposed husband's family has never heard of her, either. What is striking most of all is the fact that she was not even in the country at that time. She was studying in Barcelona at a busines school just a week after the attacks, and her classmates cannot recall her talking about losing her fiance or showing any recent injuries. She told them that her injured arm had been a result of driving accident, and another time that it was a result of a horse riding accident. She first visited the U.S. in 2003, where she adapted the persona of the most incredible of survivors.

Tania's remarkable fraud shows no sing of being done for financial purposes, and indeed she has done good for the community of survivors, such as the granting them the access to the site of the attacks. However, the book reveals ugly details about her slowly but steadily growing to be in control of the group, and treating others as her stepping stones to fame; throwing out members of the group who put her story in possible danger, and forcing another member to listen to audio tapes from her therapy where she was telling the story with screams and shouts, bringing back the terror to that person in vivid detail. Tania/Alicia was an ugly person, a fraud of the biggest sort, stealing not money and wealth ,but friendships and emotions, taking attention away from those who have been really hurt and putting it on herself. How could any other survivor match her story? She took parts of their stories and formed the biggest, most tragic and most incredible story of them all. People wanted to believe her, wanted to support her, and she wanted exactly that.

The complexity and depth of the deception of Tania/Alicia is remarkable; she seems to have appeared out of nowhere in 2003, dressed up as the 9/11 survivor. But what about her former life? How could anyone who knew her not notice her, since she was in television, newspapers and other media? She does not seem to have any contacts aside those she made in the survivor's group, not a sliver of her former life hanging around her immaculate fraud dress. This is the most incredible aspect of the story. How could a person who relished being in the spotlight not have anyone see her for what she was? How could she manage to put this masquerade going for so long, in the age of the internet? Did she not realize that sooner or later someone will be suspicious about her story, her not wanting to talk to reporters and will engage in an investigation, and that then her whole new life will fall apart?

The BBC did an excellent documentary on this issue, titled The 9/11 Faker. It can be watched on YouTube and I recommend it.(less)

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May 08, 2012 Ashleycarolhall O'Toole rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think when you have a subject like this its hard to say that you liked the book....
I have never heard about this story and it popped up on the library page as new books. I have always liked true crime stories and it seemed like a good true crime title...it goes way beyond that!

This woman lied for a number of years that she was in the 2nd tower collapse of the WTC. It is so weird that she claimed to be in that disaster...and even more so that she helped her fellow survivors with starting groups...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

I rarely read non-fiction, unless it's of the spiritual, or personal growth variety, but after seeing a Dr. Phil show about this woman's elaborate deception, I wanted to know more. It is the story of Tania Head, once the "official face" of the survivors of the World Trade Center tragedy on 9/11/01. She was the spokesperson for the online survivors group, their official "hero" and a beloved friend and advocate for many other survivors. Her story of personal loss and devastation, along with her su...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Maureen Timerman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

What a compelling heart-wrenching story. You feel the pain that Tania Head experienced. Her world fell apart on the morning of September 11, 2001, she almost lost her own life, and she did loose her beloved Dave, her husband/fiance. She recounts her horrific tale many times in this book, how could you survive all that she has lost?
You hear about the angel in the stair-well, with the red-bandana that helps save her life. She in turn helps fill in a void in his parents life, and brings them some f...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Shana rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mental health professionals

Shelves: psychology, stranger-than-fiction

I saw the documentary of this bizarre story on Investigation Discovery (also known as "TV station that Shana's cable box is most likely to be tuned to) so when I saw this book at the library, I picked it up. It turned out to be a great book and a really fast read! There's more detail in the book than in the documentary so even if you've seen it, you will still enjoy the book. I also found the ending of the book more satisfying then the ending of the documentary. The book is a true story about a...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, dtb

Two years after the attacks of 9/11, a survivor named Tania Head started posting to survivor's forums online. She was one of only 19 people who had been above the point of impact in the South Tower of the World Trade Center and survived. Her remarkable story of escape -- her arm nearly torn off, her assistant decapitated, the fireman who led her to safety as the tower collapsed, her days of unconsciousness in a New York City burn unit -- was made all the more heartrending by the fact that her hu...more Two years after the attacks of 9/11, a survivor named Tania Head started posting to survivor's forums online. She was one of only 19 people who had been above the point of impact in the South Tower of the World Trade Center and survived. Her remarkable story of escape -- her arm nearly torn off, her assistant decapitated, the fireman who led her to safety as the tower collapsed, her days of unconsciousness in a New York City burn unit -- was made all the more heartrending by the fact that her husband died in the North Tower.

In a short period of time, her forceful, magnetic personality, combined with her amazing story, made her the face -- and the heart -- of the survivors' network. She helped found and became the beloved president of the World Trade Center Survivors' Network and lobbied successfully to have the 9/11 survivors recognized on par with rescue workers and the victims' families. She gave tours of Ground Zero to visitors and dignitaries such as Rudy Guiliani and Eliot Spitzer. She was instrumental in the saving of the "survivors' staircase," which had been slated for demolition. She got the survivors admitted to the official anniversary ceremonies.

In time, though, discrepancies in her stories started to be noticed. She grew increasingly paranoid and wary of the press and started to have something of a split personality, being unimaginably cruel at times to other survivors -- people who were supposed to be her best friends. Eventually her story was entirely discredited, and in September 2007 the New York Times revealed her to be a true fraud -- she had not even been in the United States on the date of the attacks, and not a single part of her story was true.

I know a couple of people who I believe to be pathological liars, and as bizarre as their fabrications are, this blows them out of the water. Perhaps the strangest part of the story is that Tania Head made no money off of her deception -- her motivation has never become known, but she received no monetary benefit (and, in fact, spent sums of her own money on the survivors' cause) and collected only acclaim, concern, and love.

I couldn't put this book down. The first part of it goes into Tania's (fabricated) story in great detail. The reader knows from the beginning -- from the title and the information on the book flap -- that none of it is true, which makes it even more compelling. The amount of research about the attacks that Tania must have done in order to concoct her story had to have been astounding. By the time I reached the end, I couldn't decide whether I should be angry, sad, disgusted, or some combination of all of the above. What would ever lead someone to do something like this? Did she do it out of cruelty to the true survivors? Was her own life so sad and meaningless that this was the only way she could feel loved and appreciated? Mostly, though, I felt betrayed right along with the real survivors. (less)

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May 05, 2012 D.chapman rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought this was a good book. It was a very quick read. I am torn between focusing on the good she did or the hurt she eventually brought down on her “friends”. Definitely worth reading. It gives us an insight into the struggles the survivors face. As I was reading through the reviews of this book I was shocked to hear how little 9/11 affected some people. I read several reviews that said they lived on the west coast so 9/11 didn’t affect them. HOW? Regardless of where you live, a mass murder...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Crystal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

What a strange, unpleasant story about a strange, unpleasant woman. I would not have read this book had it not been a book club choice, and I cannot say I enjoyed it. I suppose the writing was decent; it was hard to say because I was busy being distracted by how horrible of a person Tania Head was. I partially knew this because the title is THE WOMAN WHO WASN'T THERE, which should tell you something about her secret, as should all the celebrity quotations on the back cover. (I actually think, gi...more What a strange, unpleasant story about a strange, unpleasant woman. I would not have read this book had it not been a book club choice, and I cannot say I enjoyed it. I suppose the writing was decent; it was hard to say because I was busy being distracted by how horrible of a person Tania Head was. I partially knew this because the title is THE WOMAN WHO WASN'T THERE, which should tell you something about her secret, as should all the celebrity quotations on the back cover. (I actually think, given that the cat was out of the bag, historically, as well as the giveaway title, that the book might have been better served told in a flashback format, instead of strictly chronologically.) So I knew bad things were coming--but I think I would have disliked Tania anyway. I honestly don't know what drew people to her so slavishly. No one should stay around friends (or anyone else) who requires draining amount of time from them any time of day or night, lashes out nastily, criticizes cruelly, and is completely unreliable. She showed herself such an unpleasant person throughout, especially towards the end of this story. I'm glad her friends eventually caught on. I just can't believe how few repercussions there were for her. Isn't giving illegal testimony to Congress at least a crime? (Wasn't that the whole excuse for Clinton's impeachment, aside from partisan politics and political shenanigans?)
The book was mercifully short, although a bit short for a full length book, really, especially with all the blank pages and chapter title pages padding between short chapters. I learned a lot about 9/11, and about the fates of the survivors, as well as of the responders and the bereaved family members. I'm actually curious to go read a straight forward book on 9/11 now, to learn a little more on the topic, without being distracted by trying to armchair diagnose whatever is wrong with Alicia Esteve psychologically. Is she histrionic? Psychopathic? I'll never know, and I'm not sure I care. (less)

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Apr 29, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Susan by: Dr. Phil McGraw

(Please avoid reading any reviews of this book--other than this one, obviously--before you read it or you'll be missing the best part of it, IMO.) This is the story of the woman who became "The Face of the 9/11 Survivors."

Interesting book, but probably more interesting to someone from the NE, or who was taken up by the 9/11 attack. Being on the West Coast at the time,I slept through it, and never having been a big fan of NYC, with its self-importance, the only real effect 9/11 had on me was that...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir

I was awake until the wee hours reading the disturbing account of a woman who deceived Giuliani, Pataki and countless others about her experience as a World Trade Center 9/11 survivor. What makes the account so intriguing for me is the fact that she worked tirelessly as well as effectively on behalf of her 9/11 survivors' group.

This scheming individual made certain her story far outstripped other survivors' accounts in its scope and magnitude. Others who were genuinely suffering from their exper...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tania Head was like anyone else. Just a normal person trying to survive in the corporate world of America. Only that all changed on September 11, 2001. Tania became a 9/11 survivor, lost a loved one…her fiancé, David, and became a public figure of hope for other survivors. Tania helped to grow the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network and lead tours at ground zero.

This went on for years until, the New York Times wanted to do a story on Tania. It was than that the truth was discovered. Tania was...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Deb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction-memoir

A whirlwind story of Tania Head, who spear-headed many groups to support survivor 9/11 groups, an unrepresented and unacknowledged segment affected by that tragedy. She was charismatic and lead traumatized people to seek help and support from each other; the dark side of this story is that after 6 years it was discovered that her involvement in 9/11 had been a complete masquerade.

I felt that the book was extremely well-written from a chronological perspective, and descriptive and detailed with...more

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May 28, 2012 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a somewhat difficult book for me to read since I had worked in the World Trade Center and know people who died that day. I was not there on September 11th, but I counseled people who were - and largely because of my work with survivors, I was interested in this story.

I found it to be much better than the documentary. This book is riveting, and - though it covers a span of several years and contains a lot of details - it's a pretty fast read. There is no answer to the question of why Tan...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Jae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

I found this to be a very bizarre book. Not bad, but not at all what I was expecting given the title and the promotion around it. What I expected was a story, from the journalists' point of view from beginning to end, about the unmasking of a faker who for years had pretended to be a 9/11 survivor: a depiction of exactly what they did to uncover her deceptions, descriptions by her one-time friends how it felt to be betrayed by her, philosophical discussion about whether she was a typical "con ma...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Melanie Cook rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, ebooks

OMG, WOW. I had never heard of Tania Head before reading this - in less than 24 hours! What a story! I can't imagine how anyone could do what this woman did. It's totally unfathomable to me.

I really enjoyed the writing, which included the inconsistencies that Tania did/said/whatever... They were things that, while reading and being amazed by her incredibly powerful story, and her amazing way of helping so many people, made you wonder why shed do this now, and then do something else later.
My mot...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Phillip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-12th

If you know about 9/11 and the survivors, you should really read this book. This book is about a woman who deceived everyone about being a survivor and actually being at the scene when everything went down. There was many evidence against Tania proving that she was not there at the time of the incident. She led many people to believe she was a hero and a survivor who can spread her experiences.

After reading this book, I was surprised to find out that people like her actually exist. She had no...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tania Head survived the attacks of September 11, 2001, but lost her fiancé. She became a celebrity of sorts helping to save the “Survivor Stairway” and help form the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network. Hired by the Survivors’ Network to create a documentary, Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. becomes friends with Tania. But as she begins to emotionally unravel, her secret emerges.

Since the title tells the story, I was interested in learning how this woman who wasn’t a survivor of the World Trade Center...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Alex Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow, I literally devoured this book in an afternoon. An amazing true story about Tania Head, a woman who said she was on the 78th floor sky lobby in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11 when it was struck literally head on by one of the hijacked planes. While she manages to extraordinarily survive, her fiance dies in the North tower. The book weaves her story from the genesis of her writings on online support groups for the forgotten victims of 9/11, the survivors. As Tania makes am...more

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May 18, 2013 Donna rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating story, and in the hands of better writers it could have been a great book. Instead, it's a lumbering linear narrative which gets more tedious the longer it goes on. We know going into the book that Head was a fraud, but there's no insight into WHY Head needed to insert herself into the 9/11 tragedy, nor any investigation into the life she was actually leading while she hoodwinked everyone. If she wasn't working for Merrill Lynch as claimed, just what was she doing? Did she...more

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Jul 04, 2012 John Orman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Incredible story, astounding deception. The true story of Tania Head, who told a harrowing tale of being in the south tower of the World Trade center on 9/11, seeing her husband's floor of the north tower hit by a plane, then herself being badly injured when another plane crashed above her. With miraculous luck and help from several Good Samaritans, she barely escaped with her life. In 2003, Tania started a 9/11 survivor's group that gained world acclaim. For four years, Tania told the sad story...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reading-for-review, biography-memoirs, non-fiction

Two years after the terrible events of 9/11, Tania Head joined the together with other survivors to create the World Trade Center Survivors Network. Her story was exceptionally compelling--not only had she lost her husband in the North Tower that terrible day, but she herself barely survived as the second plane crashed into the South Tower where Tania and her co-workers were trying to evacuate from the 78th floor sky lobby. Burned, her arm almost torn off, Tania managed to survive and became the...more

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May 18, 2012 Lauren Milligan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Tania Head is a deplorable, shocking and fascinating person. In addition to her story, I was also drawn in to the community of survivors that developed after 9/11, and how they organized themselves for the memorial and recognition that they truly deserve. The events that unfold in this book are outrageous, angering and heartbreaking, but there is also a thread of uplifting hope woven throughout. Will Tania ever be held accountable for her actions? I doubt it, and it probably w...more

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title link	preview: The Woman Who Wasn't There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception
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The Woman Who Wasn't There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception

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