The Day I Went Missing: A True Story

By Jennifer Miller

Book Overview

It's happened to all of us at one time: falling victim to someone who says the words we want to hear. It usually ends with a wounded heart or lost love. But in one woman's case, it took a deadly turn. Jennifer Miller, an Emmy-nominated TV writer, was a highly functioning member of the Hollywood scene who had everything going for her: great contacts, great work, and the promise of an even greater future. But what Jennifer did not have was a happy life, or even the ability to understand what happy meant. A single woman who did not know what it was like to have a love relationship, she was haunted by a deepening despair. She toyed with therapy, but Jennifer, the daughter of a shrink, was convinced that she was beyond help. Then she met Dr. David Cohen, and discovered something worse than depression. Believing she had finally found someone to trust completely, Jennifer allowed herself to get sucked into Dr. Cohen's world. What followed is a chilling tale of fraudulent therapy that is enthralling and horrifying from its skillful beginning to its shocking conclusion.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312265719
• ISBN13: 9780312265717
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.2" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

Intoxicating

Enjoyed the book immensly. I was sucked in by David also, but could see it coming and kept thinking "certaintly jennifer will put it to a stop now. surely she'll listen to her inner voice". Scary that there really are people out there like this.

The day I went Missing

Awesome book! I have seen some incompetent therapists in my journey, but thank the Goddess none like David in this book. You can just watch him pulling her in. I am a psychology major and this book is really scary because I know so many Licenced Psychologists. Whenever I go for treatment of any kind I look up the proffessionals liscensure to check up on them. In this case it wouldn't have helped. He was a sadistic predetor and he had a licence. The Epilogue is very scary, but don't read it first cause the rest of the book is what makes it scary. Just don't skip it. I even sent this book to a friend of mine so she will know better what to watch out for. A very quick read cause you can't put it down.

A Harrowing Memoir

I couldn't put _The Day I Went Missing_ down. It helped me more deeply understand my wife's harrowing experiences of misplaced trust that she wrote about in _Bitter Persimmons_. It helped me look at my own need and vulnerability. I think that the angry negativity expressed by some readers of Miller's book (which my wife has also been a target of) indicates how scared our society is of deep loneliness that can't be simply given the label of depression and put in a box.

Amazing True Story

I just finished this book and must say that I couldn't put it down. Anyone who jumps to criticize Ms. Miller for falling for Dr. Cohen's con game didn't read the book very carefully. The author had clearly spent her life devoid of love and human connection. She was quite honest about her upbringing and I thought made it very clear that despite her parents' serious shortcomings, she forgave them and understood that they did the best they could. She merely offered this family history and the anecdotes to highlight the reasons this man was able to manipulate her. He offered unconditional, nurturing love, something she'd never experienced before. Many people justify horrible abuse, lying, cheating and stay in horrible relationships because they are weak and afraid of being alone. I don't applaud her weakness, I simply understand the reason for it. Her story was stranger than fiction, her book was fascinating.

A Harrowing Journey

OK, so at first I felt Jennifer was being way too hard on her parents. Maybe they couldn't love her the way she needed to be loved, which left her searching and wallowing in misery. But that doesn't mean she should have been taken by the disturbing, manipulative David. He recognized that she was completely defenseless against him so he took her for all he could. Such a soul-less man. Too bad Jennifer ever met him. I found I couldn't put this book down until I finally reached the end because I so needed to have David pay for what he did. It was a difficult read because I could certainly feel how she was suffering, but I'm sure it will serve as a cautionary tale for other searching women. Good job, Jennifer. Hope I see your name on some great sitcom credits.