Phony!: How I Faked My Way Through Life - Softcover

In 1998, Andrea Stanfield told a lie that became the foundation of her professional life. In an interview with the accounting department of a Florida engineering firm, she claimed, verbally and on paper, that she held a bachelors degree in business from a large midwestern university. In fact she had only a high school diploma. Through sheer moxie and impressive interviewing skills, she got the job, and eventually this lie became the stepping-stone for a very successful career.
Eventually, the girl with the high school diploma ended up as the manager of the two largest financial districts in the firm. Still in her early thirties, she oversaw twenty offices and forty employees, traveled frequently, became an adept public speaker and regional trainer, and was singled out for her leadership talent - all without anyone questioning that she was who she said she was.
In the end, the guilt of living under false pretenses took its toll - emotionally and physically. Part of her job involved advising employees in annual reviews to go back to school to advance their careers. How could she just "look people in the eye and lie"? What would she tell her growing daughter someday about the secret of her success? Who was the real Andrea anyway?
Part confessional, part morality play, this intriguing autobiographical tale of a "white lie" that snowballs into an avalanche is a warning to personnel managers, employers, and employees that people are not always all that they seem.

Andrea Collashaw is now a certified dog trainer.