This was the day that switch went off in my head and I went full steam ahead regardless of the outcome. I could no longer exist in this environment with my boys. Who knows. Julia Garner’s a terrific actress. But I think that whatever elusive charismatic powers Anna has come through less in the way the story is presented, [and more in] the way the whole story was created. Everyone talks about Anna’s star power—they were so clearly taken with this subject that they began to empathize with her. If you think about it, what do con artists do? They tell stories. Stories have so much power when it comes to creating belief. So everybody has bought into this fantastical narrative that has become so devoid of fact but still has the illusion of truth. The facts are boring, I guess, but they’re important. This cosily illustrated volume wants us to take time to stand and stare, paying attention to everyday natural events, many of which can be appreciated in a garden or indoors through a window" — The Sunday Times Inventing Anna premieres Feb. 11. Brought to life by one of TV’s most popular creators and starring an Emmy-winning actor, the show is poised to be a hit. Millions will watch as Anna is portrayed as a complex anti-heroine fighting against her personal demons and a world that constantly underestimates young women. It will be seen by more people than will ever meet Anna or do the work to understand her real nature or what really happened. And that is a dangerous reality.

Williams criticized the series for portraying Sorokin heroically—as a savvy and inspiring hustler, and not as a convicted felon. (Sorokin is currently in ICE detention, facing deportation.) The thing that bothered me the most was in every chapter I got the impression that this wasn't meant to be an honest account of Rachel's story but rather the author attempting to paint herself in the best possible light in every situation, both big and small. It seemed that pieces of the story were glossed over or omitted to for this reason. And EVERYTHING was someone else's fault. Fault was placed at the hands of her husband, his family, the police, government agencies, etc and there was blame to go around for sure, but not once did she say "I could have done something differently." I would have liked this book much more and been able to empathize if the author would have taken just a little responsibility, for anything. And in case anyone is getting the wrong idea I'm not talking about her being abused obviously, but I can't go into details without spoiling some of the story. Allen said: “We’re about raising awareness as otherwise people are suffering in silence. Awareness leads to greater reporting, which leads to greater offences being recorded - that is a positive.” In the end, Williams says, the Netflix writers manipulated the real events to fit their own story, one of Sorokin as a product of our attention culture and materialist desires. The result, she says, is that the wrong conclusions will be made about the story’s particular characters, including herself.Rachel Williams: I was caught off guard when Netflix announced its description of the character Rachel. [Editor’s note: Netflix described Rachel as “a natural-born follower whose blind worship of Anna almost destroys her job, her credit, and her life. But while her relationship with Anna is her greatest regret, the woman she becomes because of Anna may be Anna’s greatest creation.”] No. I mean, it speaks to my objections about the way truth is [dealt with on the series], but there’s this constructed world within the show—which I guess is the necessity of television—where it creates this illusion that I was close friends with Neff ( Alexis Floyd) and Kacy. I like them. I’m not going to speak negatively about them. But they were not my close friends. Rachel Williams was 21 years old and a single mum to her two-year-old son Josh when she said she met a “very charming” and “funny” man named Darren in March 1993, with whom she went on to get married and have a baby. She added: “I hope that with all the deaths this year from male violence that the police (ALL police) will see domestic abuse, and coercion as a priority.”

Over the next year our relationship progressed, and it was going well, we went on walks together and had fun. I just think that there is a risk when you try to project a fictional narrative onto a real [crime story]. You may have shaped [a show] in a way that’s convenient for your story, but it’s a disservice to the people whose stories you’re telling.It was destabilizing to have been so wrong about someone I trusted,” Williams explained in a recent piece for Time.“ I began writing to process what had happened, so I could learn from it and hopefully leave it behind.”