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  • The Less People Know About Us

  • A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity
  • Written by: Axton Betz-Hamilton
  • Narrated by: Laurie Winkel
  • Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (112 ratings)

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The Less People Know About Us

Written by: Axton Betz-Hamilton
Narrated by: Laurie Winkel
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Publisher's Summary

In this powerful true crime memoir, an award-winning identity theft expert tells the shocking story of the duplicity and betrayal that inspired her career and nearly destroyed her family.

Axton Betz-Hamilton grew up in small-town Indiana in the early '90s. When she was 11 years old, her parents both had their identities stolen. Their credit ratings were ruined, and they were constantly fighting over money. This was before the age of the Internet, when identity theft became more commonplace, so authorities and banks were clueless and reluctant to help Axton's parents.

Axton's family changed all of their personal information and moved to different addresses, but the identity thief followed them wherever they went. Convinced that the thief had to be someone they knew, Axton and her parents completely cut off the outside world, isolating themselves from friends and family. Axton learned not to let anyone into the house without explicit permission, and once went as far as chasing a plumber off their property with a knife.

As a result, Axton spent her formative years crippled by anxiety, quarantined behind the closed curtains in her childhood home. She began starving herself at a young age in an effort to blend in - her appearance could be nothing short of perfect or she would be scolded by her mother, who had become paranoid and consumed by how others perceived the family.

Years later, her parents' marriage still shaken from the theft, Axton discovered that she, too, had fallen prey to the identity thief, but by the time she realized, she was already thousands of dollars in debt and her credit was ruined.

The Less People Know About Us is Axton's attempt to untangle an intricate web of lies, and to understand why and how a loved one could have inflicted such pain. Axton will present a candid, shocking, and redemptive story and reveal her courageous effort to grapple with someone close that broke the unwritten rules of love, protection, and family.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Axton Betz-Hamilton (P)2019 Grand Central Publishing

What the critics say

"A brave, rueful memoir of fear and heartbreak in rural America. Axton Betz-Hamilton mines the most essential of life's questions: can we ever really know the people we love? The Less People Know About Us is an unflinching portrait of grit and determination in the wake of a fractured childhood and complicated grief." (Carolyn Murnick, author of The Hot One)

"The tension of a thriller...[and] jaw dropping revelations. Astonishing and disturbing, this emotionally resonant book is perfect for true crime fans." (Publishers Weekly starred review)

"This memoir has all the suspense and twists of a thriller; even as readers begin to suspect the truth, it still shocks...highly recommended." (Booklist)

"Axton Betz-Hamilton's story is remarkable. One of the primary challenges for those of us advocating for more rights and resources for identity theft victims is their reluctance to share their experience. Betz-Hamilton writes with candor and grace about both her relationship with her mother/perpetrator, and the long term effect victimization has had on her life." (Eva Casey Velasquez, president/CEO of Identity Theft Resource Center)

"'Identity theft' sounds like something that happens far, far away and only to other people...certainly not within a seemingly picture-perfect family in the rural U.S. In a gut-wrenching portrayal of victimization starting at age 11, Axton Betz-Hamilton shows that's simply not true. The stunning revelations will keep you looking over your shoulder for a long time and even more troubling...at the ones you think you know the best!" (Nancy Grace, legal commentator, broadcast journalist, and New York Times best-selling author of The Eleventh Victim)

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What listeners say about The Less People Know About Us

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Loved it.

As someone who has gone through her own version of childhood chaos, books like this are comforting in the fact that I am not the only one who had to make sense out of a dishonest and unfair childhood.

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Loved it. Quite an emotional roller coaster.

I very much enjoyed this book. It made me feel all the emotions. You really get to know the author. I have never read anything else like it.

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Really Enjoyed!

Really enjoyed this audiobook! I think the narrator was an excellent choice and I enjoyed listening to this story. It was not the story that I expected and kept my attention rom beginning to end.

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Pretty good!

The first half of the book was a little boring. Something about it just wasn’t captivating but the last part had me hooked and admittedly, a bit shocked. I am still shaking my head in awe.

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Loved it

The author is a fenomenal story teller. I couldn't put the book down and I was sad when it came to an end.

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Heart breaking story

This story is heartbreaking but shared with the peace of reconciliation and maturity , worth the read! Gripping !

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Good but predictable story

I'm giving a 4 star average because some parts of this book were fantastic. There were others though where my attention became disinterested as all I could here was blah, blah, blah to information that seemed irrelevant. The other issue was I had it figured out in the first 2 chapters. BUT, when you strip it down the story itself is incredible and shows the strength of humans in the midst of adversity.

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Excellent Story

this is my first book that I actually finished I enjoyed the story. I especially liked the mystery of finding out who her mother was and how her life was growing up

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Fascinating

Axton Betz-Hamilton's childhood was extraordinary for all the wrong reasons. She grew up in a home full of deception and secrets, the reality of which came to light only after her mother's death. What a bombshell of discoveries. Financial fraud, romantic affairs, a whole secret life; her mother was something else all right. In addition, the constant emotional abuse perpetrated on the author while growing up may have been subtle but was relentless and insidious in nature, taking deep root and leading to a lifetime of insecurities. I know the feeling well. It's a brave undertaking to share this story. The author did a great job.

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Fascinating

This was a great read. Very well performed so I found myself unable to put it down. Disturbing what identity theft from a loved one can do to several generations of family

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