There Is No Ethan Audiobook By Anna Akbari cover art

There Is No Ethan

How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish

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There Is No Ethan

By: Anna Akbari
Narrated by: Anna Akbari, Justin Price
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About this listen

Part memoir, part explosive window into the mind of a catfisher, a thrilling personal account of three women coming face-to-face with an internet predator and teaming up to expose them.

In 2011, three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this fascinating man. His detailed excuses about broken webcams and complicated international calling plans seemed believable, as did last minute trip cancellations. After all, why would he lie? Ethan wasn't after money—he never convinced his marks to shell out thousands of dollars for some imagined crisis. Rather, he ensnared these women in a web of intense emotional intimacy. After the trio independently began to question inconsistencies in their new flame's stories, they managed to find one another and uncover a greater deception than they could've ever imagined. As Anna Akbari and the women untangled their catfish’s web, they found other victims and realized that without a proper crime, there was no legal reason for “Ethan” to ever stop.

THERE IS NO ETHAN catalogues Akbari's experience as both victim and observer. By looking at the bigger picture of where these stories unfold—a world where technology mediates our relationships; where words and images are easily manipulated; and where truth, reality, and identity have become slippery terms—Akbari gives a page-turning and riveting examination of why stories like Ethan's matter for us all.

©2024 Anna Akbari (P)2024 Grand Central Publishing
Best of 2024 Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions Editors Select True Crime Exciting Scary Thought-Provoking

Editorial Review

The catfishing memoir to end all catfishing memoirs
OMG! Anna Akbari took me on a JOURNEY with her stranger-than-fiction memoir about how a stranger can be ... fiction. A feisty young sociologist in the early days of online dating, Akbari began chatting with a witty New Yorker named Ethan. Ethan’s lofty job meant lots of travel, long hours, and an Irish phone that made email and text his sole methods of communication. Anna fell hard for his clever, sexy messages—irresistibly voiced by Justin Price, the perfect complement to Akbari’s own narration. But as their intimacy deepened, Ethan’s excuses to avoid meeting raised major red flags. Emotionally invested yet professionally fascinated, Akbari’s investigation led her to other victims (whose solidarity will warm your heart amid the otherwise chilling tale) and jaw-dropping revelations about the “real” Ethan Schuman. The catfishing memoir to end all catfishing memoirs, There Is No Ethan will have you talking (and listening) compulsively—just don’t google the case until you finish, for maximum effect. — Kat J., Audible Editor

What listeners say about There Is No Ethan

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I would have been happier and more interested if I had googled this and read the online articles.

Annoyed by the voices of the narrators, and the dialogue was painful to listen to. I kept turning it off in frustration and then forcing myself to listen. Ultimately, I would have enjoyed this as a podcast or article. I was waiting to be more interested when it finally came to the discovery and confrontation. The only interest was the response of the perpetrator. I was expecting more depth but it was more an accounting of what happened with no real story or depth or descriptors of experience. I regret using my credit on this and wish I had just googled the story instead.

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20 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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How Can Someone Be So Dumb

Very good book if you like to listen to true crime, psycological type books. It's amazing that so many women can be taken in by a scam artist and even more amazing that the catfisher can be so brilliant but horrible at the same time.

Very good book. Worth the credit or dollars.

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3 people found this helpful

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wow. smart review that makes me think

if this could happen to these smart women, it could happen to anyone. that this woman is our there and a doctor is disturbing.

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2 people found this helpful

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OMG!!!! Must Read!!!

OMG!!!!!!
Wow, fast paced captivating book! I couldn't put this down and read it in one sitting! It is appalling that "Ethan" is still out there and there were no repercussions for their actions. And worse yet, the power that this person has, I'm sure they are still doing this.

Loved the writing voice and she kept me on the edge of my seat!
This is a MUST READ!!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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An interesting look into cyber criminals.

I’m intrigued by the story but felt it was really really long, since there were so many reoccurring themes among victims. I googled an article midway thru the book and wished I would’ve left it there. However, the author does a great job writing it.

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Fascinated

This is a fascinated psychological page turner. You can just feel the characters and look a them as a spectator but also be there. Master story telling. Shows how in the world , very complicated, very intelligent and educated women may fall for the snake.

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Wow! The story came with receipts!

Very well told and brought light to an interesting and complex discussion at the end of the book. The author and the other women who shared their experiences are brave to share their vulnerability about being catfished. This book held nothing back when revealing the catfish’s identity! Great read!

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2 people found this helpful

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Book is great

Ok, the book is great. That being said, I don’t know if it’s crazier the catfisher is a NJ MD (Google Emily Marantz MD) or that someone able to be strung along 2+ years by this person online accepting continious excuses on why they couldn’t talk or meet. She fell in love with text on a screen.

Ok, I can see how the author got sucked in; she wised up after 2 mos. Thats still a long time & starting a relationship with someone who lives spends their time residing in another city & another country just seems like a terrible idea. I’m not victim blaming, I’m asking the question how could this be possible?

Anyway, the bizzare situation that makes up this whole story makes an amazing book. Even more crazy is how after the jig was up some of the women keep corresponding with this catfisher on the premise of “getting answers” & “stopping her”. Unfortunately messing with people online isn’t a crime, the smart thing would’ve been to cease all correspondence & move on.

But no.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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My review on “There Ia No Ethan”

I listened to the audio book version and it seemed slow at first. Going back and forth on what would be emails.the last quarter of the book is where it became interesting. The story line is interesting and how this all panned out.

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1 person found this helpful

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Excellent narration

This was very well written and narrated. Man am I angry about this. The nerve "Ethan" had

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