The Kindest Lie: A Novel

Review "The Kindest Lie is a layered, complex exploration of race and class."-- "Washington Post""A fantastic story...well-written, timely, and oh-so-memorable."-- "Good Morning America""A sharp exploration of racial divides and community in America."-- "Newsweek""Narrator Shayna Small's sumptuous voice and on-the-mark character portrayals enhance this beautiful story...Small's lush voice is elegant and soothing...Small gives an affecting performance of this moving story. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."-- "AudioFile""A gloriously written, stunning heart scorcher about who we are and what we could be." -- "Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author" Product Description “The Kindest Lie is a deep dive into how we define family, what it means to be a mother, what secrets we owe to those we love, and what it means to grow up Black. This beautifully crafted debut will keep you asking these questions and more.” —Jodi Picoult A masterful, eye-opening novel about the profound racial injustices and class inequalities roiling society in America.A promise could betray you.It’s 2008, and the inauguration of President Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy-League educated Black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He’s eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to—and was forced to leave behind—when she was a teenager. She had promised her family she’d never look back, but Ruth knows that to move forward, she must make peace with the past.Returning home, Ruth discovers the Indiana factory town of her youth is plagued by unemployment, racism, and despair. As she begins digging into the past, she unexpectedly befriends Midnight, a young white boy who is also adrift and looking for connection. Just as Ruth is about to uncover a burning secret her family desperately wants to keep hidden, a traumatic incident strains the town’s already searing racial tensions, sending Ruth and Midnight on a collision course that could upend both their lives.Powerful and revealing, The Kindest Lie captures the heartbreaking divide between Black and white communities and offers an unflinching view of Black motherhood in contemporary America and the never-ending quest to achieve the American Dream. About the Author Nancy Johnson worked for more than a decade as an Emmy-nominated, award-winning television journalist at CBS and ABC affiliates in markets nationwide. A graduate of Northwestern University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she manages brand communications for a large nonprofit. The Kindest Lie is her first book.