Ellen Marie Wiseman

THE LIES THEY TOLD, the newest historical fiction from bestselling author Ellen Marie Wiseman (one of my favorite authors) is based on a true story and does not disappoint. But it's also NOT for the faint of heart.

I am once again struck by the dark secrets United States history manages to keep largely hidden. This story - of government deceit, destroyed families, and class prejudice - must stand among the worst. At its heart is our government's 20th century commitment to the now discredited show more theory of Eugenics, seen then as a way to monitor and protect our nation's genetic integrity. Awarded five stars on Goodreads for so skillfully presenting this policy's tragic human cost.

The story begins in 1928, when 19-year-old Magdalena "Lena" Conti arrives at Ellis Island with her baby, elderly mother, and 14-year-old brother, Enzo. With great joy, they anticipate being welcomed by their distant relative, Silas, who has sponsored their trip and promised them work. Instead, the four of them are quickly separated. Magdalena luckily knows a bit of English but the rest of her family does not. Each is pushed through a series of insensitive physical exams and intellectual testing by indifferent bureaucrats, who show little concern for whether anyone understands what is happening. The entry procedures this family endures absolutely changed how I view our country's immigration history.

When Lena and her daughter eventually arrive at Silas's home, she does not find what she imagined. Silas, a grieving widower, expects Lena to keep house and care for his hostile children, Bonnie and Jack Henry, in exchange for bed and board. Lena soon learns that the State of Virginia is working to create Shenandoah National Park, with the backing of a few greedy landowners like George Freeman Pollock, who owns a nearby tourist spot, Skyland Resort. The land they are targeting, however, is currently occupied by local farming families, many of whom have been on their land for generations. Including Silas.

In this novel, the government does not simply use eminent domain to acquire the land, offering families a fair price. When some farmers refuse to sell, Pollock hires social worker Miriam Sizer to write a report critical of the locals, characterizing them as poor, backward, inbred, and ignorant. They hire photographers to take staged pictures to support their conclusions. The resulting propaganda campaign questions the essential human value of the locals, ultimately inflicting profound suffering on both the current population and generations to come.

One reason I found THE LIES THEY TOLD so devastating was because it feels contemporary. It sheds light on a time when the United States unfairly treated immigrants, abused its power by using arbitrary, non-scientific judgment to insert itself into the most private aspects of its citizens' lives, and denied justice to some of its most vulnerable residents.

Everyone should read THE LIES THEY TOLD - to remember the mistakes of the past and try to avoid repeating them. show less

I have long been a fan of author Ellen Marie Wiseman and COAL RIVER was the only book of hers that I had not read. Once again, she didn't disappoint.

This is historical fiction centered around the deplorable working conditions in the mining industry before widespread unionization. Wiseman creates a fictitious mining town in Pennsylvania to tell a disturbing but true story of unsafe equipment, child laborers, frequent accidents, sub-standard housing, overpriced company stores, and greedy show more owners.

Into this setting, Wiseman places the story's protagonist, Emma Malloy, an orphan, transplanted from New York City after the tragic death of her parents. With no money and no where to go, Emma comes to Coal River, to live with relatives who see her primarily as free household help. But as Emma learns more and more about management abuses at the local mine and gets to know both miners and their families, she becomes determined to do something to improve the lives of workers, especially the children. It's not without risk since her uncle is one the mine's supervisors.

It's a story full of action, suffering, violence, and building suspense and that intensity is hard to read at times. And I learned a lot about why the United States had to enact child labor laws. But I did have a issue with the "big reveal" at the end of the book for two reasons. First, it felt WAY too convenient. And second, there's a clue presented early in the narrative that allowed me to figure out what that reveal was going to be.

Nevertheless, a highly recommended book, especially for those who know little about the country's coal mining industry in its early days. show less

Blackwood Manor is a chilling place, hiding family secrets in its locked rooms and forbidden spaces. Lilly and Julia both live in the house, 19 years apart. One shut in the attic as an abomination until she is sold to a passing traveling circus as a freak. And the other growing up with no love from her parents, an ignored outcast until she runs away. Years later, when Julia inherits the manor and surrounding horse farm, she will discover the horrible truth.

I found this story mesmerizing and show more disturbing at the same time. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop...but I still found it difficult to continue. The life Lilly and Julia face in Blackwood Manor at the hands of horrific parents is bleak. The father is weak and the mother is clearly mental. I found myself wishing I could jump into the story, throttle both of them and take the girls out of their horrible lives. But, the story does end with hope -- good does come out of the bad. So, in the end, there is peace and renewal for one of the girls.

The story does depict child and animal abuse as necessary parts of the story. If that would be too disturbing, then it might be best to pass this book by. For me, the hope at the conclusion of the story made up for all the duress. There is one scene with a circus elephant though that I found particularly disturbing. I refuse to attend circus performances because I feel the animals are abused, and this scene shows the worst sort of abuse that early 1900s circus animals faced. The scene is painful to read, but an important and necessary part of the plot. The abuse of the animals and performers in the circus just brings home the difficult lives that those with defects or differences of any sort faced only decades ago -- and, in many cases, still face today. More horrific though was the abuse and neglect of two girls, years apart, in Blackwood Manor.

The Life She Was Given -- the title has two distinct meanings in this beautiful, yet haunting, tale. This is a book that will keep you thinking and feeling for days after you finish reading.

Ellen Marie Wiseman is the author of several books including Coal River and The Plum Tree. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.ellenmariewiseman.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less

The Lies they Told is one of those rare books that touch your heart with characters that stay in your memory. It's about a terrible time in American history that we weren't taught in school and is rarely even written about. Despite all of the horrific events in the book, the overall feeling is one of hope and love of other people despite what others try to do to them.

Lena is an young unwed mother who comes to America from Germany with her mother, brother and 2 year old daughter. After a show more terrible journey in steerage, they arrive at Ellis Island hoping to begin their new lives. A distant cousin was going to provide work for her mother and brother and had paid their fare but didn't know that Lena and her daughter would also be arriving. When they arrive on Ellis Island, they are appalled at how they are treated. Her mother and brother are not allowed to stay in the US and deemed burdens to society and sent back to Germany. Lena is allowed to stay but the distant cousin, Silas, is not pleased but reluctantly agrees to take her to his cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to help take care of his home and two children. She is worried when she finds out the two young children have been taught to hide when the sheriff comes around and she wonders if her daughter is in danger. Despite the friendliness of her neighbors, she still worries about the safety of her daughter and her two young charges. She is horrified when she finds out The State of Virginia is scheming to paint them as ignorant, immoral, and backwards so they can evict them from their land, seize children from parents, and deal with those possessing “inferior genes.” When Lena is accused of promiscuity for living with a man, she is sent to the Virginia State Colony for the Feebleminded and Epileptics and her daughter as well as Silas's two children are taken away. All of the women in the 'home' are treated horribly and she longs to get out and find her daughter again.

Lena is a beautiful and well written main character. Despite what she goes through on Ellis Island and missing her mother and brother, she decides to make the best of her opportunity to start a new life. The two children learn to trust and love her and despite Silas's strict attitude, life is going well for her as she learns how to live off the land. She is thankful for her new life and her new friends in the community. She is strong and resilient and vows to find her daughter despite all of the road blocks that the government has in place to keep her from reuniting with her. Her quest to find her daughter was heart breaking but she never gave up. Lena is a character that I won't soon forget as she struggles against the cruel mandates of the government and the believers in eugenics.

The author has done extensive research and it shows on every page. Her characters are all well written and impossible to forget. It isn't a political book at all but the story reminds us that discrimination against other people still exists in our world and we need to remember the events of the past to make sure that they aren't repeated in the future. show less