Impostor Affect A Closer Look by a Classic Case

The impostor phenomenon is defined by experts as the inability of high achieving people to internalize their successes or to believe that they are capable of or responsible for their own accomplishments. Impostors feel like frauds—plain and simple.

Have you ever felt like an impostor? Are you among the multitudes in the United States who have experienced impostor feelings without knowing why?

The author’s journey from GED to Ph.D. reflects her passion for all things education. Her nearly decade working with authors reflects the love of all things publishing. Now she has come out of the shadows and from behind the scenes to courageously share personal stories that mirror the research she found on the impostor phenomenon. The profiles she created from the research could just as easily have been taken from her life’s experiences. If experience trumps education on the “expert” scale of 10,000 hours, then this author has rightly classified herself as “a classic case,” having clocked over 262,800 hours struggling through the impostor life.

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“Andrea’s writing does not allow skimming. It is too inviting and engaging and a couple of academic comments would not begin to cover the important messages in Andrea’s journey. The book is scholarly (excellent example of qualitative meta-analysis), but the scholarship supports rather than hinders Andrea’s personal journal with the imposter phenomenon. The book is a must read for all who care about understanding and enhancing the human condition. Andrea's account of her ‘impostor-hood’ is for all of us a celebration of the human spirit."

—James Banning, Ph.D.