The Woman Who Fooled the World by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano

The Woman Who Fooled the World by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano
The Woman Who Fooled the World is a broad and compelling look at the tale of Belle Gibson—the woman who shot to fame after telling the world she cured her brain cancer by giving up conventional treatment and committed to eating a healthy plant based diet. Her story inspired people around the world, and Apple included her app in the development of the Apple watch, while Penguin Books gave her a publishing deal to tell her story, alongside the recipes she used to heal herself. But Gibson never had cancer.
This book tracks Belle’s life, from her early years, already making severe health claims in discussion boards online, to her relationships with other “Wellness Warriors” who were also turning to alternative treatments, as well as with the big businesses that encouraged and supported her. These links to influential businesses are important because of the devastating effects that Gibson’s lies helped create.But it goes beyond Gibson’s duplicities, offering a broader view of this story by highlighting the realities of cancer—presenting them alongside the very healthy seeming Gibson—as well as the specifics of her lies—talking to the people she befriended and used to fundraise money which was never donated.
It is a fascinating look at how people could have fallen for a tall tale such as this, when there was no evidence to support it. It examines how hope is ultimately the driving factor in what people are willing to believe and how the deceptions inherent in social media make such lies flourish. VIEW PRODUCT
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