This book by Ellen Marie Wiseman is one of the best books I have read. She is a great author. Her books stir emotions in the reader and are hard to put down.

It is a story of a woman’s plan for a better life in the United States which are shattered by a group of people who believe in eugenics. They believe that many immigrants and poor people were feeble minded and needed to be locked away and sterilized so as not to reproduce more feeble minded people. Lena’s daughter was taken from her forcefully and Lena was locked away in a mental institution. In order to be allowed to leave the institution she had to allow the doctor to sterilize her first. The rest of the book is about Lena trying to find her family and her lost daughter.

It is a heartbreaking and emotional novel which will stick with you for a long time. It is hard to believe such terrible things happened in a civilized country and that they could easily happen again. I highly recommend this book. Everyone should read this one. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

Wiseman’s latest novel is one that you don’t want to miss. The story follows the journey of Lena, a young mother and immigrant coming to the United States with nothing but the few clothes she can carry, her little girl and a heart full of hope. Upon arrival, the intimidating Silas Wolfe, a distant relation, dashes many of those hopes. Faced with caring for his children in an unfamiliar territory, Lena does not have an easy path forward but she is willing to do whatever it takes to create a better future for her daughter. Over time, Lena finds friends and a family with the mountain folk of Virginia but there is an unimaginable enemy coming for them and all they own. Wiseman brilliantly tells the story of the eugenics movement that was prevalent in the United States in the 1920s. As the authorities are searching for reasons to separate families, take their land, and prevent them from creating new ones, Lena tries to hold on to what she holds dear. This novel offers a heartbreaking look inside a time in our history that is not often spoken about and offers a view into the lives of the everyday people trying to survive it. Brilliantly done, make sure you have plenty of time before you open the cover, you’ll want to read it in one sitting!

Ellen Marie Wiseman's newest novel, The Lies They Told, is an excellent historical fiction based on true attitudes and actions taken against the poverty stricken people of rural Virginia.
Lena has immigrated to America in the 1930's with her mother and younger brother. little family is broken up at Ellis Island where she is looked down on for being pregnant and unwed. Silas , a distant cousin from the Blue Ridge Mountains, is not expecting her. He takes her in as a nanny of sorts for his children. The unfolding events tore my heart out and pulled every emotion from me. The characters are so well written-- good ones and bad ones---I felt as if they were real people.
The book examines the policies of that time period : eugenics; forced sterilization of girls, boys, and women; forced incarceration to asylums, etc.
This book stayed with me for a very long time. There is a happy-ish ending which saved me. A wonderful read.
COMING JULY 29th, 2025
Thank you for sending an advanced reader e-copy at my request. I review books I love for friends and followers. I recommend this book to others who enjoy historical setting with compelling storylines, New Adult Fiction, General Fiction.

4.5⭐️
(ARC review) — Thank you to author Ellen Marie Wiseman and her publisher Kensington. I received an Advanced Reader Copy for the JULY 2025 release of 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑇𝑜𝑙𝑑 in exchange for my honest review.

If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a must read. Immigrant experience in the 1930s. The American dream. While there is hope, there was so much heartache and pain chasing it. I was emotionally connected from the start.

Eugenics and human population. Mind blown. Not a topic I knew much about. This story while difficult was told with beauty and grace, while shedding light on this period of history. So many emotions. This book is about the will to survive and a mother’s unconditional and unending love. This is my third book of this author and I’ve enjoyed them all. If you haven’t gotten a chance to enjoy this author I highly recommend her books.

I think Ellen Marie Wiseman is one of my top favorite authors. This book will break your heart in a million pieces and have you yelling for justice. But there is beauty in the heartache and something to learn on every page. Please preorder this book, you will not be sorry! Beautiful!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

"The Lies They Told" is a profoundly moving and thought-provoking narrative. It follows the journey of Lena, who arrives at Ellis Island as an unmarried young woman accompanied by her two-year-old daughter. Almost immediately, she confronts the harsh realities that immigrants face in their pursuit of a new life in America. Lena is taken in by a distant relative, Silas Wolfe, a widower who requires her assistance in caring for his two children. Although life presents numerous challenges, Lena gradually forms a bond with the children.

However, her existence is soon disrupted as she is thrust into the distressing and brutal world of eugenics, which dramatically alters the course of her life. The emotional depth of the story left me in tears, and I felt a surge of anger as I read. A truly well-crafted book resonates with a wide range of emotions, and this one certainly does. I would rate it a solid 4 stars.

I extend my gratitude to Net Galley and the publisher for providing the ARC for review. This reflects my genuine opinion.

Wonderfully written. This novel introduced the subject of eugenics to me. Born and raised in the mountains, this hit close to home and opened my eyes to so much.
The author did a great job shedding light on a terrifying time in our country. Not only am I intrigued but I am ready to learn more. The author did well with the descriptions of the enviroment and the raw emotions people handled or tried to. The characters, like them or hate them, were well written. The information given was shocking and heartbreaking to read. I will give my children extra hugs after this one.
5 stars for me. Informative, well executed, intriguing, and emotional. Thanks to to publishers for an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Well done, Ellen Marie Wiseman.

Lena's story was heart wrenching. So much unnecessary pain and suffering all because a group of people thought they were better than everybody else. The novel seemed to be well researched and offered us a window into one of the dark periods of time in America's past.

Another great historical fiction by one of my auto-buy authors Ellen Marie Wiseman.

Written with a heavy hand toward character development (as with her other books), this book makes you feel invested in the characters. Her descriptions immerse you in the scenery and makes you feel like you’re a part of the story.
This novel felt a little different from my favorites of hers where she leaned heavily into inspiration from real life events, but it was nonetheless still very relevant and gripping.

I just finished The Lies They Told and I'm speechless. Speechless because of this story. There are few books that I have read that permeates my whole being. This story while dealing with tough but true historical facts made me fall in love with the characters.

Ellen Marie Wiseman creates stories from historical events that have been long forgotten. I can't even imagine how she is feeling while researching these tough topics but she brings to light in such a delicate manner these lesser known events and not only that but she creates her characters as if they were real.

Trust me when I say this is a must read and is going to probably be my favorite book this year.

Thank you Kensington and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

The Lies They Told
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Pub Date: July 29, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I have read several books by this author and have gained something from every reading.
In rural 1930s Virginia, a young immigrant mother fights for her dignity and those she loves against America’s rising eugenics movement – when widespread support for policies of prejudice drove imprisonment and forced sterilizations based on class, race, disability, education, and country of origin – in this tragic and uplifting novel of social injustice, survival, and hope for readers of Susan Meissner, Kristin Hannah, and Christina Baker Kline.
While the novel occasionally dips into familiar tropes of social injustice, Wiseman's captivating storytelling and faithful recreation of history make for a gripping read. The universal themes of survival, hope, and resistance against oppression are poignant and timely.

Ellen Marie Wiseman is renowned for her conscientious research and talent for resurrecting overlooked historical episodes.

A truly exceptional novel about a pivotal yet often overlooked chapter in American history, one that should never be forgotten.

There are books that when they come along, they change you, they make you think deeper, appreciate more, and change the way you look at the world. That is what this author does to me with her books.
These tough subjects are woven into characters that you’ll fall in love with and never forget.

This book sheds a light on the eugenics program in the 1930s in the United States. We watch our young woman Lena go through the immigration process.( I had no idea how brutal that was.) we watch her move in with a distant cousin up in rural Virginia while the government is threatening to take their land. The government also gets to decide who is feeble minded, who belongs in an institution, who is a burden to society, and who must be sterilized as to not bring any further children into the world who could also be a burden.
We follow Lena through it all. As a young mother protecting her child and helping her family fight for their land and their rights.


I absolutely loved this book and the ending was read through many tears!

4.5 Stars. This was such an emotional and heartbreaking book. Weaving together difficult topics such as the stigmatization of immigrants, eugenics, and forced sterilization, Lena’s journey is filled with immense sorrow and tragedy. While the subject matter was tough at times, I was so invested in the characters that it was hard to put this book down!

I was unfamiliar with the eugenics movement in early twentieth-century America, particularly Virginia, and this story was both compelling and extremely infuriating. As the corrupt government aimed to seize control of the land in the Blue Ridge Mountains by any means necessary, countless families’ lives were torn apart in the process of establishing the Shenandoah National Park.

While the subject matter was difficult, this book explores incredibly important issues and I loved learning about the culture of the people in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The tight-knit community was targeted for their land but their determination to survive in a world trying to suppress them was truly inspiring.

If you’re looking for a captivating historical fiction that will open your eyes to a dark period in American history, definitely check this one out!

Another well researched novel from this author! She continues to weave forgetten pieces of American history into her stories with vulnerable, and exposed characters. With each book she delivers, the author provides a voice to those who have suffered. I am now more knowledgeable from reading her books.

Such a hard read. It is about a family that comes to the US for a better life and it’s one tragedy after another. A sad but wonderful book. A solid 5 stars from me!

Ellen Marie Wiseman has done it again! I loved The Lost Girls of Willowbrook and The Life She Was Given, so I was excited to read this new one. And I am so glad I did!

The book looks at two social issues that were prevalent in the 1920s - the mistreatment of immigrants and the forced sterilization of women and girls deemed to be a drain on society. At first I thought this must be part fiction, but after some research, it was unfortunately all too real. The novel does a really good job of keeping to the history and weaving it into the story line.

The characters were well developed and very likable. My heart broke for the suffering inflicted on them, especially for the children. I cried for Lena and for Silas, and cried happy tears for Bonnie and Ella.

This was another 5⭐️ book for me. I’m grateful to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advanced copy of this excellent read!

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

The Lies They Told
By: Ellen Marie Wiseman

5 Stars

I have been a fan of this author since the beginning. I believe I have seen her grow in her writing. This one was different, but an amazing story. This story is one that grabs you emotionally from the beginning. Lena is new to America, fresh off a boat at Ellis Island. The great American dream is not what it seems. Seperated from her family, she moves to the Wolfe
farm only to find herself in more danger than she could ever have imagined.

My mind is just blown by this book. Eugenics is not something I know much about, but this book (that authors note) shocked me. This story was mostly sad and heartbreaking. It told a hard story that was normal for so many immigrants, but that told a very ugly truth. It told of horrors and pain, separation and abuse. It also sprinkled in the little moments of hope and light. This story was written so well. It was a great story that told of horrors, but it did it gracefully and with understanding. You can tell a ton of research was done to get it right. I'd say this is a book that NEEDS to be read. The things in this book need to be studied. Needs to be known.

It will shock and break your heart, but the ending is WELL worth the read, BUT tissues are needed.


*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

The Lies They Told is a solid book, touching on several topics but sometimes falling short of bringing the story together. The author spent a fair amount of time detailing an immigrant's time on Ellis Island, followed by a long chunk following rural farm life in the 1920s. The eugenics aspect of this novel is informative if you're unaware, but seemed secondary to much of the story. I must say that although I've lived adjacent to a southern state all my life, and married someone from that state, I have never once given any thought to the contraction "y'all." However, after reading this book I have had my fill for awhile. I mean no disrespect to those who say that. But it was sooooo overused in this book, that it distracted me from the story. This was a quick read and I find Ellen Marie Wiseman's books to be reliable page turners. I think many will enjoy this more than I did though. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman Lena's story draws you in from the first page and doesn't let go until the very end. The characters are sympathetic and fascinating; each has their own peculiarities and mannerisms. Most importantly, there is an outpouring of love and hope within the communities. While the plot is emotionally charged, it is a compelling engrossing read. The author, in the notes at the end of the story, sheds light on this moment in history; life in post-war Germany and the suffering its people faced, the difficulties of the immigrant experience, the culture of the mountain people, corruption in local administrations, and the eugenics program. An entertaining and informative read.
Thank you to Ms Wiseman, Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.