‘My Friend Anna: The True Story Of a Fake Heiress’ by Rachel DeLoache Williams [Book Review]

I really enjoyed this book, even though I have some issues with it.

Of course, my enjoyment comes from the fact that it tells a really interesting story about a fake heiress. It’s not every day that we hear of stories like this. It really proves that reality is stranger than fiction.

I don’t trust the narrator much, though. In many parts of the book, she just sounds like some self-righteous person eager to get everyone’s validation by emphasizing how different she is from her friend Anna Delvey (or Anna Sorokin) who happens to be a con artist.

But of course, I am also trying to understand that she must have simply been hurt and traumatized because of her experience. Just reading about her financial struggles after their failed Morocco trip is already exhausting. What more for someone who experienced it first-hand, right?

The book is flawed and so is the narrator, yet I still see value in the story. It is something people need to know about.

As a creative nonfiction writer, I understand that sometimes, one’s courage to share a painful story alone already deserves merit. Especially now, when the truth is easily twisted by some for their own advantage.