Margaret Seltzer
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Margaret Seltzer (pseudonymously Margaret B. Jones, born 1975) is an American writer. In 2008, Seltzer published her first book, ''Love and Consequences: A Memoir of Hope and Survival'', about her alleged experiences growing up as a half
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, half Native American
foster child Foster care is a system in which a underage, minor has been placed into a ward (law), ward, group home (Residential Child Care Community, residential child care community, Treatment centre, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-ce ...
and
Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includin ...
gang member in
South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...
. Shortly after publication, the book was proven to be completely fictitious: Seltzer was actually fully white, grew up with her biological parents in the upscale
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
community of
Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
and attended Campbell Hall, an affluent Episcopalian day school in the North Hollywood area of Los Angeles.


Memoir

While promoting her memoir, ''Love and Consequences'', in radio interviews with
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's ''
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'' and
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's ''
Tell Me More ''Tell Me More'' was a National Public Radio interview show that was hosted by journalist Michel Martin. ''Tell Me More'' was first introduced online in December 2006 through an "open piloting" program called "Rough Cuts." Martin and the show's ...
'', Seltzer spoke with an African American Vernacular dialect and frequently referred to alleged gang friends as "homies" and "my home girl". The book's publisher,
Riverhead Books Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy. Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James (novelist), Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, ...
, recalled all copies of the book and audiobook from booksellers. Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble pulled the purchase page for the book from both of their sites, and Riverhead offered refunds to those who purchased it. The hoax was discovered when the publisher was contacted by Seltzer's sister. Speaking to the ''New York Times'', Seltzer later admitted that the personal details of her memoir were fabricated, but claimed that some details were based on the real experiences of friends.


See also

*
Misery lit Misery porn (also called misery literature, misery memoirs and trauma porn) is a literary genre dwelling on trauma, mental and physical abuse, destitution, or other enervating trials suffered by the protagonists or, allegedly, the writer (in t ...
*
Rachel Dolezal Nkechi Amare Diallo (; born Rachel Anne Dolezal, November 12, 1977) () is an American former college instructor and activist known for identifying as a transracial black woman. In addition to claiming black ancestry, she also claimed Native Ame ...
*
James Frey James Frey (born September 12, 1969) is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, ''A Million Little Pieces'' (2003) and ''My Friend Leonard'' (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stories were later fo ...
*
Pretendian A pretendian (portmanteau of ''pretend'' and ''Indian'') is a person who has falsely claimed Indigenous identity by claiming to be a citizen of a Native American or Indigenous Canadian tribal nation, or to be descended from Native ancestors. Th ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seltzer, Margaret 1975 births Impostors Living people Literary forgeries Writers from Eugene, Oregon Writers from California