You'll Never Believe Me: A Life of Lies, Second Tries, and Things I Should Only Tell My Therapist

It started out great! The writing is witty and sharp. But just 2 chapters in and there goes the hate. The author is writing a memoir of her experiences. There was no need to be so venomous about the Mormons church. I understand the need for background but geeze! Opinions are opinions and personal beliefs are just as individualized. You lost one reader 30 pages in.

If there is a target audience for this memoir, it’s likely not me. I am right at the end of the Boomer Era, close enough to Gen X to identify, but far enough from Millennials to be seen as a product of an incomprehensible generation. So, when I first started reading “You’ll Never Believe Me”, my reaction was, typically Boomer. She scammed her friends! She bounced checks! She used drugs and slept with a lot of guys! She’s a Bad Girl. Cue gasps and the pressing of the back of a trembling hand to my forehead.But, here’s the great thing. Kari Ferrell is not a bad person. She did some screwed up stuff after going through a difficult childhood as an adopted person of color in not only a predominantly white culture, but also in a highly structured, highly religious Mormon culture. In Salt Lake City, no less. And, in trying to find some place where she belonged, she gravitated toward those who, for whatever reason, also felt like outcasts or “less than”. And once that happened, it was difficult to get off that path of stealing and scamming.Kudos to Ferrell for dealing with the consequences of her actions. After such a tough start, and a lengthy stay in prison, she has fought to put her past behind her and enact real changes to help people in marginalized communities, including women of color, women in prisons, and those who identify as LBGTQ.Thank you to Ferrell for writing honestly about what she’s been through. Although I didn’t think I could ever identify with her, as a much older non-Mormon white woman who’s never been in much trouble, I found plenty about her to admire by the end of her story. She made me much more aware of my own privilege, and opened my eyes to ideas and circumstances I’d never considered.

Interesting and thought provoking, though we disagree on quite a bit.Which is usually what I find to be interesting and thought provoking.I was debating with myself as to whether to give this a 3 or 4 stars, and decided to go with 4 in honor of this seeming (ironically) like one of the more honest self portrayals I've seen, heard or read in quite some time. Honesty should be honored.Also she made me laugh more than once and that's tough with someone as emotionally detached as I am.Keep pressing on, Kari. I hope you find truth and peace.

I had no problem with the author telling her story. What I struggled with during the reading was her trying to justify her illegal and immoral actions through her adoption status. I would say that she was lucky that her "parents" bothered to give her a new home at all. I also was extremely bothered by her inaction regarding the crappy way that she treated the people she had fleeced as the "Hipster Grifter". I don't recall one time that I detected a true apology for her actions to her "friends". I'm sorry, but I can't find any room in my heart to normalize this kind of criminal activity. Please don't read this book. If I could give it zero stars, I would.

Kari is a piece of work! Funny and poignant all in the same breath. Kari learns as much about life as she does by looming inward, honesty is a bitch, but who better to be honest than yourself?

A true and compelling story straight from the lips of the culprit. This was written very well, and I am glad I went out of my comfort zone to read this one. Definitely worth the achievement!

What is it in us that urges us to rubberneck at the mess of another's mess of a life? Well, that's how I felt while reading this book. The author, Kari Ferrell, regales us with the complete disaster she had made of her life from a young age. She's not that old, so it is a more youthful account, and she seems to have successfully turned herself around. But her willingness to share the story of her life and foibles makes for an interesting read for those of us who enjoy a little recklessness from the safe distance of a book.Kari, a self-professed liar, goes all out and honestly (or so it seems) starts with her beginnings growing up as a Korean adoptee in Mormon Country Utah, to her struggles trying to make something of herself in New York City. Of course, it's not all that simple, especially for Kari who lies her way from one exploit to another. She's not just a liar though. She's added a few other crimes to her miscreant résumé. Eventually she finds herself behind bars, and not just for a night or two. Not really a long sentence, but a few months is too long for anyone who finds themself with such an address.I won't spoil anymore of the story as it's best told by Kari herself. The book reads easy and offers quite a few laughs. After all, her writing style and her sense of humor are a couple of her better traits. If your literary neck needs a little stretching, you might enjoy this book.

Thanks!

I was excited to receive this eGalley from Netgalley.com. This was already on my TBR for 2025 because I enjoy memoirs and this seems like such a wild story.I had to sit on this before reviewing because Kari Ferrell is really good at deceiving people. At the end, I wondered if she was deceiving readers too. She revealed so many memories and perspectives in such an interesting way. I wouldn't say she was unapologetic, but Ferrell seemed to hold up a window into her past. She tells the stories of how she started hurting the people in her life and the choices she made along the way. Some of it was nostalgic for me as a millennial who spent some time in NYC at the same time. While I believe what was written, I am left wondering how much of it was truly honest. Even if it wasn't, I decided it doesn't matter to me. I'm glad Kari told her story and chose to do it this way.I recommend this book for anyone wanting a glimpse into a chaotic life of a young person who made reckless choices. It was insightful and personal. I haven't listened to it, but this reads like it would also be a good audiobook choice too.

For me, this is a difficult book to review. I really liked the first part of the book on Kari’s life being adopted by a white Mormon family. I felt her pain and understood how she felt out of place. She lost me after she settled in New York. Mistakes were made over and over, and I felt the book was about 200 pages longer than it actually was. I do salute her bravery in telling her story.

I listened to the Audiobook version of this, read by the author. First things first -this was a good memoir in some important ways. It captures a specific time, in the very early moments of the social media revolution. The audiobook works well technically - her voice is clear and distinct, and the chapters are read fluidly (there are a few noticeable overdubs or re-recordings, but they're few and minor). It's an interesting story and one worth telling. Her story is a good example of this type of story. So why three stars? Well, first, the narrative was disjointed in my opinion. She has incredibly powerful themes with which to work: adoption, being raised white while being Korean, body image, being LGBTQ+ (to some degree) in heavily religious Utah, growing up in the LDS religion, sexism, misogyny, etc. However, these themes are presented more or less in isolation, and very few are synthesized into a cohesive narrative. She also demonstrates remarkably little curiosity or insight as to why she was so destructive, both to herself and others. I mean, maybe she doesn't know, but the most we get are scenes in which she wonders what's wrong with her.Ultimately, we come to a scene, near the end, where she speaks with a friend and asks if she has a responsibility to educate others as to specific kinds of racism. She ultimately decides that it's her responsibility, but only if she wants it to be. It felt off - if this book is a journey of how we come to know what's right and how to make right what we've wronged, then this is a terrible answer and the kind of thing that reminds the reader that the author has hurt a significant number of people (all the while while hurting and being hurt). It left me wondering, aside from a few well-drawn scenes, what this book brought to the conversation that one couldn't glean from old magazine articles.I read a glowing NY Times review of this book, which prompted me to borrow it via Amazon Music, which now allows subscribers to borrow an audiobook. At the end, the review said that she received her copy for free but that she'd gladly have paid for the book. I don't feel quite the same way, but I'm glad I listened to this. If you're thinking about picking up (or borrowing) a copy, my caveat is this: expect to do some of the work of a memoirist yourself here.

The author shares her journey conning friends for money. She is eventually caught and spent time incarcerated. There is some internet “fame” along the way as well. On release she rebuilds her life and goes straight. I enjoyed reading about her story, including the aspect of being born in Korea, adopted and raised in the state of Utah as a Mormon.

It was a funny read but needed something more at the end. It started good but slowly died out and became very boring.

Starts as a boohoo story but then rockets to a get out of my way win! You will learn how to stop feeling sorry for yourself and show the world how cool you cool hook you really are. Throw that mask away or better, shove it up dome biased persons.ass. Power to thepeople.

While I am a millennial, I didn't have any previous knowledge of the "hipster grifter." This was quite the introduction to Kari. I have to say, I devoured this memoir. I thought it was definitely well done and appreciate that we get to see some growth from Kari. The most interesting parts for me was the time in which she spent incarcerated, because I do think that it actually help reform her and change the trajectory of her life. There were times that the story was a big drug down on minute details that could have been skipped, and I do feel like it wrapped quite abruptly, but I still have a fun time reading this book and look forward to learning more about Kari as an activist, a true change from her life of grifting. It is heartwarming to see that even when faced with adversity, people can truly change their lives for the better.

So fascinating! Kari Ferrell lets us in on what it's like to be a transnational adoptee, to be raised in the Mormon Church, to living a life of grifting and then being sent to prison because of her crimes, and then her rehabilitation. She has an incredible way with words and I loved reading each page. This memoir is fun to read and quite entertaining. I was annoyed with her behavior, and really could not connect with her mindset, but I wish her all the best as she strives to live out her best life, and contribute to her community. I hope she publishes a "sequel" in about 10 years!Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review You'll Never Believe Me.

I had read several rave reviews about this book, but I was sadly disappointed. It was pretty boring. The criminal behavior, basically kiting bad checks and shoplifting, was run of the mill. The last chapter 2 were just a lot of preaching. I don’t think this author would be a very interesting person, because she suredoesn’t write an interesting memoir. A waste of money.

I had never heard of Kari Ferrell before reading this book (but I definitely googled "hipster grifter" as soon as I finished it). I'm fascinated by a lot of different elements in the book: growing up LDS, transnational adoption, selling yourself like a commodity while also focusing on "authenticity"...I found that the memoir stayed pretty "surface level" to me. While Ferrell talks about her crimes and takes responsibility (for the most part), she doesn't go into her motivations or draw many (any?) conclusions. Obviously people are entitled to their privacy and can write memoirs however they like. I can admit that I expect more of a thesis or driving point in my books, and that includes memoirs. Why did she feel the need to write this? I'm still not sure even after having finished.This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the memoir.

You'll Never Believe Me: A Life of Lies, Second Tries, and Things I Should Only Tell My Therapist was the book I thought Scam Goddess: Lessons from a Life of Cons, Grifts, and Schemes was going to be. Because I am so busy reading that I don't have time to follow pop culture 🤣, I didn't know who the Hipster Grifter was before this book. I asked to read it because (1) I enjoy memoirs (especially when I am unfamiliar with the subject matter); (2) I enjoy true crime; (3) I like it when authors read their own work; and (4) I kind of have a beef with the LDS faith (LSS, little female missionaries used to try and recruit my partner. On my watch.).The Kari Ferrell I met inside of these pages was so much more than, well, either a hipster or a grifter. As much as she took advantage of people, she could also be loyal and kind. I will file You'll Never Believe Me: A Life of Lies, Second Tries, and Things I Should Only Tell My Therapist next to Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System—and Pocketed $40 Million for their descriptions of women's prison. It's still not something that I want to experience, but in both cases I heard stories of women supporting other women, working together to get through difficult times. It does make you think about our criminal justice system!Kari Ferrell caused me to think about a lot of things. She's just a skooch younger than my youngest sister. Kari's story helped me understand some of the pressures that my sister must have faced, things that I, being Gen X, can't fully appreciate. We didn't always get along growing up, and I think some of that was an inability on my part to understand how deep that generational gap could be. I'm so glad to hear that Kari has gone to work in advocacy, because I see real talent there. I hope that her work and words will bring more people closer together, and help more people understand the differences and similarities between us in a way that strengthens society. Kari Ferrell should have a lot of good years ahead of her yet, and I am so looking forward to where her story takes her next!I would like to thank Macmillan Audio for allowing me to experience this NetGalley audiobook.

Before social media was full of stories about scammers, Kari Ferrell—known as the Hipster Grifter—was already making headlines. In this honest and entertaining memoir, Ferrell shares her real story, going beyond the internet gossip to show who she really is.Growing up as an Asian American adopted into a Mormon family in Utah, Kari felt out of place. She tried to fit in with the wrong crowd, which eventually led her down a dangerous path of scams, theft, and fame for all the wrong reasons. But there’s more to her story than just bad choices and viral fame.With a mix of humor and honesty, You'll Never Believe Me tells how Kari went from a troubled past to a life focused on doing good. She writes about learning from her mistakes and trying to make things right. This memoir is about finding who you are, learning to change, and how your past doesn’t have to define you.This book is funny, emotional, and full of wild stories, making it a great read for anyone interested in second chances and personal growth. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars for its fresh voice and inspiring message.