In this tantalizing true mystery of a stolen life, an acclaimed reporter and an identity theft investigator follow a series of incredible revelations about the actual identity of a wife, mother, and friend turned perfect stranger.
Days after Lori Ruff'ssuicide, her family discovered her hidden strongbox containing stunning evidence that her entire life had been invented. Her real identity was buried so deep it would take five years to unearth. Who was LoriRuff?
Maureen O'Hagan's The Woman in the Strongbox is part of Missing, a collection of six true stories about finding, restoring, or accepting the losses that define our lives-from the mysterious to the inspiring. Each story can be read-or listened to-in a single sitting.
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[She seemed to spring from nowhere, simply appearingone day in the Dallas area]***
(AmazonOriginal Stories, 31 July 2018, ebook, 55 pages, Prime Reading)
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I really enjoyed this short little nugget. I found Lori's story fascinating. I could easily imagine how horrified her family must have felt. It was bad enough that she took her own life in front of her family. The strongbox that revealed she had stolen someone's identity made everything worse. Everything they felt they knew about a wife, a mother, and a daughter-in-law was thrown back in their face. I loved the way the story unraveled as the pieces of such an intriguing mystery are slowly and carefully put together. There is a feeling of dissatisfaction though because no explanation is ever found for the reason Lori walked away from her family, changed her identity and didn't speak to them again. Her family seems perfectly nice so disappearing and leaving them in limbo for thirty years seems so cruel.
