When You See It: How I Outsmarted & Outlasted Dirty John

Summary

Tonia Bales married a handsome young man named John Meehan, who offered her a bright future. They had a happy marriage for nearly ten years, weathering the typical challenges couples experience. Then, Tonia sensed something was wrong. He started coming home late, spending more time traveling, and they were losing their connection. Her gut told her to start digging for answers. Her questions uncovered a web of lies and then a shocking truth: Tonia had married a sociopath.

How could he have hidden the truth for so long? They had two children and seemingly normal, busy lives when Tonia discovered that John had been diverting drugs. She struggled to understand this level of deception. Little did she know this was just the beginning.

The more questions Tonia had, the more distant and angry he became, accusing Tonia of sabotaging their marriage and blowing things out of proportion. With the devastating realization setting in that Tonia may not have known her husband at all, and the threat of divorce looming over her, Tonia must push herself to dig further into this mystery. The discovery of more dark secrets—aliases, affairs, a criminal record, and a dark family past—reveal that there is a story to be told, a story that can only be complete if John's previous victims, lovers, coworkers, and family are willing to come forward.