
The Mother Next Door
Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy
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Narrated by:
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Andrea Dunlop
About this listen
This program is read by the author.
A groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that investigates Munchausen by Proxy from the host and creator of the award-winning true crime podcast Nobody Should Believe Me.
"I devoured this chilling yet critically important book in 48 hours, unable to believe what I was reading. Dunlop and Weber have written a powerful, unflinching deep dive into our country’s systemic failure to protect children from medical abuse."—Stephanie Wrobel, bestselling author of Darling Rose Gold
No bond is more sacred than that between a mother and child. And no one is more sympathetic than a mother whose child faces a life-threatening illness. But what if the mother is the cause of the illness? What if the sympathy is the point?
Munchausen by proxy (MBP) has fascinated and horrified both professionals and the general public since this disturbing form of child abuse was first identified. But even as the public has been captivated by these tales of abuse and deception, there remains widespread misinformation and confusion about MBP. Are these mothers unfeeling psychopaths, or sick women who need help? And more important, how can we protect the children whose lives are at stake?
The Mother Next Door offers a groundbreaking look at MBP from an unlikely duo: a Seattle novelist whose own family was torn apart by it, and the Texas detective who has worked on more medical child abuse cases than anyone in the nation. Listeners ride along on three high-stakes MPB investigations; through riveting reporting and shocking stories from the family members, friends, and doctors caught in the blast zone of these unthinkable acts, a twisted portrait of motherhood and deceit is revealed.
With help from some of the top MBP experts in the world, Dunlop and Weber uncover the complex maze of psychological, systemic, and cultural issues that compound MBP and offer solutions for how we might find our way out.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
©2025 Andrea Dunlop and Mike Weber (P)2025 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"I have been an admirer of Andrea Dunlop’s fiercely original work for years. Rarely is someone able to strike such a perfect balance of rigorous research, courageous fact-finding, and compelling narrative storytelling. I have no doubt that this book will be known as the canonical Munchausen by Proxy text."—Amanda Montell, New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and host of "Sounds Like a Cult"
"I was hooked from page one until the very end. A page-turning, jaw-dropping examination of MBP, our healthcare system, and the ways that perpetrators hide in plain sight."—Nora McInerny, bestselling author of Bad Vibes Only, and host of "Terrible, Thanks for Asking"
"A truly vital, groundbreaking, and riveting contribution to the literature on child abuse. This immensely readable book is the most important literary work since the MBP term was coined fifty years ago. The Mother Next Door shines like a beacon."—Marc D. Feldman, M.D., coauthor of Dying to be Ill: True Stories of Medical Deception
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Story
When Laila Lawrence becomes an orphan at 23, the sudden loss unexpectedly introduces her to three glamorous cousins from New York who show up unannounced at her mother's funeral. The three siblings are scions of the wealthy family from which Laila's father had been estranged long before his own untimely demise 10 years before. Two years later, Laila has left behind her quiet life in Grosse Point, Michigan to move to New York City, landing her smack in the middle of her cousins' decadent world.
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Good Listen
- By Vallena on 02-19-18
By: Andrea Dunlop
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Into the Madness
- A Killer’s Game, a Woman’s Obsession, a Dark Conspiracy
- By: Trevor Aaronson
- Narrated by: Trevor Aaronson
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
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On July 4, 2022, a shooter climbed onto a rooftop in Highland Park, Illinois, and opened fire on a Fourth of July parade below, killing seven people and wounding dozens more. Prosecutors charged Robert “Bobby” Crimo III with the mass shooting. But this attack was part of something even more insidious. Bobby had created an elaborate game—complete with cryptic videos, a book of numbers, and an eerie online presence—designed to seed a conspiracy theory about the massacre.
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Interesting story and perspectives.
- By B. Felix on 02-25-25
By: Trevor Aaronson
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Cruel Deception
- The True Story of Multiple Murder and Two Devastated Families (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
- By: Gregg Olsen
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In and out of hospitals since birth, angelic nine-month-old Morgan Reid finally succumbed to what appeared to be sudden infant death syndrome. Morgan's Texas-born mother, Tanya, a nurse and devoted wife, pulled up stakes with her grieving husband, Jim, and moved on. It was the best way to put the past behind them. Until their son, Michael, a boy who by all accounts was terrified of his mother, began showing signs of the same affliction that stole the life of his baby sister....
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Deadly Mystery
- By Judy on 06-07-22
By: Gregg Olsen
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Women Are the Fiercest Creatures
- A Novel
- By: Andrea Dunlop
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Anna Sarnoff is still reeling from her quickie divorce from tech wunderkind Jake Sarnoff. Forced out of the company that she helped Jake build, Anna is trying to pick up the pieces of her life, navigating the waters of solo parenting their two teenage boys and adapting to her new role of ex-wife. To make things more complicated, Jake seems to want her back…and his persuasiveness tempts her to say yes.
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The story started out strong, but
- By Anonymous User on 03-02-25
By: Andrea Dunlop
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Where Was God?
- By: Jennifer Dawn Turpin
- Narrated by: Tonia Rich
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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As far as Jennifer can remember, her father was abusive but her mother wasn’t always. She remembers a time when she felt loved by her mother. All that changed when Jennifer was 11. Her mother snapped and became a monster like her father was. Then they turned on her. Jennifer fought to become who she wanted to be, and not who her parents were trying to make her be. She refused to allow the torture change her, like it changed her mother. This is the story of Jennifer’s past, how she got through it, and how she survived it all.
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my best friend jennifer turpin
- By J.R. Taylor on 08-10-24
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The I-5 Killer
- By: Ann Rule, Andy Stack
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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As a young man, Randall Woodfield had it all; he was a star athlete with good looks and an award-winning student. Working in the swinging West Coast bar scene, he had more than his share of women. But he wanted more than just sex. An appetite for unspeakable violent acts led him to cruise the I-5 highway through California to Washington, leaving a trail of victims along the way. As the list of the dead grew, the police mobilized to stop a twisted killer who had 44 known deaths to his name.
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Ann Rule always delivers
- By Anonymous User on 10-17-19
By: Ann Rule, and others
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A Stolen Life
- A Memoir
- By: Jaycee Dugard
- Narrated by: Jaycee Dugard
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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"In the summer of 1991 I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother who loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen. For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse. For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation. On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I dont think of myself as a victim. I survived...."
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Terrific
- By Daniel on 07-27-11
By: Jaycee Dugard
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Not My Fault
- By: Trish Hinde, Ann Cusack
- Narrated by: Laura Brydon
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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Trish Hinde, 35, was sexually abused by her father, Gerard King, from the age of six. Alone and scared, she internalised her trauma and began suffering from violent seizures. Her father took responsibility for her epilepsy care, even abusing her on hospital visits. Trish and her five siblings were neglected, often relying on neighbours for food and watching helplessly as bailiffs carried away their possessions. In her early teens, Trish was recklessly promiscuous and became a victim of child sexual exploitation, often finding herself in danger.
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Compelling story
- By Kelly on 04-14-25
By: Trish Hinde, and others
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Playing Sick?
- Untangling the Web of Munchausen Syndrome, Munchausen by Proxy, Malingering, and Factitious Disorder
- By: Marc D. Feldman
- Narrated by: Lyle Blaker
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In the classic edition of this outstanding book, originally published in 2004, Dr. Marc Feldman explores the bizarre cases of real patients who feign or even self-induce illness. Playing Sick? chronicles the devastating impact of illness hoaxes, including factitious disorders, Munchausen syndrome, Munchausen by proxy, and malingering. Based on years of research and clinical practice, Playing Sick? provides the clues that can help professionals, family members, friends, and patients themselves to recognize these diagnoses, avoid invasive procedures, and understand elusive motives.
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Understanding
- By B. Anderson on 03-03-25
By: Marc D. Feldman
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Framed
- Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
- By: John Grisham, Jim McCloskey
- Narrated by: Jim McCloskey, Michael Beck, John Grisham
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In his first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, #1 bestselling author John Grisham and Centurion Ministries Founder Jim McCloskey share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. Impeccably researched and grippingly told, Framed offers an inside look at the injustice faced by the victims of the United States criminal justice system.
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Believable but unbelievable
- By kimberly on 10-20-24
By: John Grisham, and others
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The Many Lives of Mama Love
- A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing
- By: Lara Love Hardin
- Narrated by: Lara Love Hardin
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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No one expects the police to knock on the door of the million-dollar two-story home of the perfect cul-de-sac housewife. But soccer mom Lara Love Hardin has been hiding a shady secret: she is funding her heroin addiction by stealing her neighbors’ credit cards. Lara is convicted of thirty-two felonies and becomes inmate S32179. She finds that jail is a class system with a power structure that is somewhere between an adolescent sleepover party and Lord of the Flies. But Lara quickly learns the rules and brings love and healing to her fellow inmates.
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Well written and great story
- By A. Champ on 09-02-23
By: Lara Love Hardin
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Broken
- The Most Shocking Childhood Story Ever Told. An Inspirational Author Who Survived It.
- By: Shy Keenan
- Narrated by: Judy Mason
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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I was born and broken in Birkenhead, abused from infancy by a network of every kind of pervert from ‘thinks it’s love’ to ‘show it hurts’. I was unwanted, beaten, sold, swapped, photographed, filmed, left for dead, corrupted, blamed, betrayed, ignored and orphaned. But I was also born with a fire inside me. I call it my Phoenix Fire. I am no victim—that word only describes what happened to me. Nor am I a survivor because that implies I am over it. I am a Phoenix—a work in progress. This is my story....
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Unbelievable Story
- By Amazon Customer on 09-07-23
By: Shy Keenan
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Spilled Milk
- Based on a True Story
- By: K.L. Randis
- Narrated by: K.L. Randis
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Brooke Nolan is a battered child who makes an anonymous phone call about the escalating brutality in her home. When social services jeopardize her safety, condemning her to keep her father's secret, it's a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she's been hiding. In her pursuit of safety and justice, Brooke battles a broken court system that pushes to keep her father in the home.
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Great story
- By Amazon Customer on 05-01-25
By: K.L. Randis
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The Madman's Hotel
- By: Niall Breslin
- Narrated by: Niall Breslin
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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In the heart of the rolling green hills of Ireland a huge abandoned psychiatric asylum looms large and holds its secrets close, until one family fights to find the truth about their long lost great grandmother. Presented by Irish celebrity and mental health advocate Niall Breslin - this is the untold story of the quest to find patient Julia Leonard, alongside many others, who came to die in St Loman’s Hospital near Dublin. Why was Julia in St Loman’s? And what happened to her and other patients who found themselves within its walls?
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Heart felt Remembrance
- By RosaInGlousta on 11-05-24
By: Niall Breslin
What listeners say about The Mother Next Door
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- caitlin
- 02-14-25
Transformative Awareness
My jaw is on the floor. My heart in my throat! Hard to swallow, impossible to forget. I fell in admiration for this duo through listening to Andrea’s podcast and hearing Mike’s interview on the show. They spoke of how their lives had crossed paths on this unnerving intuitive fight to protect children from the unimaginable. They’ve come together masterfully to tell these stories in the purest forms of advocacy for the lives of children. I’ve learned so much from this book, and the facts of this parental illness are wrenching. As a special education teacher, I will insist this book onto my colleagues. I’m so impressed by the work of Mike Weber and Andrea Dunbar. Their combined experience and investigations are intertwined and retold in extraordinary narrative fashion. The compelling evidence shares the reality that we all need to face, and hold ourselves accountable to. Right now.
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- Keepdriving87
- 02-24-25
This is a must read.
This is a must read. This book gripped my attention and would not let it go. Very educational, and insightfully written.
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- Anonymous User
- 04-22-25
All the information that I had no idea even existed…unfathomable information
I loved the entire book!! The dedication and effort to be advocates for children…for the truth..
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- Kate
- 02-05-25
Great listen!
I've been listening to the podcast from the first season, so I had this audiobook on pre-order. It was a great read with the same tone as the pod (and the audiobook is read by the author.) Some parts are a bit repetitive if you've already listened to those seasons of the podcast, but there was still plenty of new material. The parts about the internal politics of the police department were a bit boring to me (felt a bit like the detective was using the book to settle some personal scores.) But overall a really interesting topic presented in a more responsible way than a lot of true crime.
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- Anne Mahoney
- 03-09-25
Important Topic
Complicated material shared through actual accounts of real cases. Good introduction to system responses. Will hopefully lead to better outcomes.
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- Mother Of Hope
- 04-30-25
Compelling handling of maternal abuse
My knowledge of Medical Child Abuse has certainly increased thru this brilliant telling of true life legal cases.
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- Nicole Sponseller
- 02-07-25
Heartbreaking but Necessary Listen
Andrea presents shocking information in an understandable way so that readers feel educated. This should be a mandatory reading requirement for all people who work with children. While these stories are heartbreaking they are sadly also very true. Thank you Andrea for shedding light on this disturbing topic.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-17-25
That this is taking place and that our law-enforcement and court systems choose to ignore it
I purchased this book on a whim thoroughly, enjoyed it, and found the subject fascinating
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- AML
- 02-11-25
Such great information!!!
Loads of information as to why so few cases are prosecuted or the perpetrators are found guilty! The amount of time and effort to save kids and then cases being dropped for political or personal reasons. So extremely sad! Appreciate hearing the backstory on some of the inner workings and more information than on the podcast. Hopefully this reaches more people!
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- Sam
- 04-19-25
Terrible Narration
The childish tongue-thrusting speech of this author narrator should never have been used. It is impossible to listen to.
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