Phony!: How I Faked My Way Through Life

Ten years ago, at the age of 25, first-time author Stanfield was involved in a bitter custody battle with her ex. Although an experienced bookkeeper, she lacked a college degree and couldn't make enough money to support her daughter and her lawyer. And so, by fudging her resume with a nonexistent business administration degree, Stanfield founded an improbably successful managerial career on a lie. After struggling to make money on commission as a stockbroker, she lands a Business Manager position in the accounting department of an engineering firm, and eventually climbs her way to ""success, respect, and moolah,"" not to mention a 300-person staff. Unfortunately, Stanfield was so used to ""faking it,"" she couldn't stop even for ""making it."" Already suffering from anxiety attacks, Stanfield's situation goes from bad to worse when her boss is discovered to have swindled $50 million from the company, and all the employees come under close scrutiny. Unfortunately, Stanfield's plunge to the bottom, ""overwhelmed with guilt, humiliation and regret,"" and climb back to a happy medium-she's now a happy dog trainer-make a somewhat overblown addition to the confessional memoir genre.