Shortly after WWI, Lena Conti, her mother and teenage brother left Germany to emigrate to the USA. However, they were separated at Ellis Island because her brother was declared "feebleminded" -Which was not true= and his mother .had to accompany him because he was a minor. Lena and her 2 yr old daughter found their distant relative, Silas Wolfe to fulfill the duties to care for his home and 2 children. After traveling to the Blue Ridge Mtns of Virginia, they reached the farm and Lena steps into these responsibilities (without pay).
There is added tension to the unending work of the farm and household, in that the State of Virginia wants to evict the hill people so that the state can have their land and take their children to prevent them from spreading their "inferior genes."
The book explains the process of land seizure, forced sterilization, based on class, disability, country of origin. The state also removed children from their homes and sent them to "more suitable" families. It was a travesty of a high degree and I was shocked at the descriptions in this book.
The author obviously did a huge amount of research and wove it into a compelling story.

Lena, a young unwed mother, along with her daughter, her mother, and her brother have the opportunity to immigrate to the United States and away from the poverty stricken Germany of the 1930s. But their hopes are quickly dashed when they reach Ellis Island and the immigration officers deem her brother, who still doesn’t know much English, “feebleminded” and her mother “too sick” to come into the US. With no other options she continues on without them, meeting her relative and traveling to rural Virginia to work in his home. But when she only faces more discrimination there as the Eugenics Office is ramping up their work in the area.
This is a sad look at a dark part of our nation’s history! It is not common knowledge that Hitler himself got many of his Eugenics ideas from American “doctors” and their methods of trying to get rid of “inferior genes” in society. The harsh realities of the atrocious things so many people were put through makes this book hard to read at times. Although it ends on a happier/lighter note, for the vast majority of the book things keep going from bad to worse for Lena, her family members, and the local community. Which did make it a struggle to get through. It was scary how much control these doctors/sheriffs/scientists had over so many peoples’ lives. I think the ending, though needed to cast a little light in the darkness, was a bit unrealistic in the characters’ reactions to being told the truth about the events of their own past. But, at that point we just needed some goodness and to wrap up the story, so I understood it.
Overall, this is a very informative book and helps you to really feel the emotions of people dealing with these horrors, but I think you definitely have to be in the right mindset going into it.
It has already been published, so you can purchase it at your favorite book buying location.
Thank you to @netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #TheLiesTheyTold

There is so much to unpack with this exceptional work of historical fiction, which should be required reading. Lena comes to America with her baby daughter, brother and mother. The details of what happened at Ellis Island outlines the cruelty which included many detentions and even death, which resulted in sending her mother and brother back to Germany. It is the 1920’s, and Lena’s hope for a new start is abruptly interrupted as she goes to live in the Blue Ridge mountains with a distant relative, Silas. Silas is a widow with a son and daughter, hiding them from authorities to protect them. The theory of eugenics was popular at the time, and used extensively to kick 500 families off their land to build Shenandoah National Park, stealing the land and often separating families. Labeled feeble minded or deficient, many were thrown into institutions, women were sterilized, and few received any compensation. Lena’s story is both heartbreaking, but also hopeful. This is a hard novel to read without being moved, but essential in light of what the government is doing today to again create a sense of people being other and not worthy. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for this most impactful novel.

From Lena’s experience at Ellis Island to the farm this was emotionally gripping and very thought-provoking. I loved the persistence and courage Lena had to do what was best for her daughter above all else. The anger I felt multiple times with how Lena was treated but also the views on Silas’ children. It was appalling what the state was doing to women and their children. I could feel all the emotions from not only Lena but also Bonnie and Jack Henry. Even with all the sadness and fear that this family encountered it still had a good sense of hope and love. I loved the detail that went into bringing the setting and characters to life.

Thank you @ellenmariewiseman @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy

I’ve read every book Ellen Marie Wiseman has written and they somehow keep getting better. Her stories are so real and raw that you can feel every emotion through the pages. She researches to get every detail as accurate as possible. This story was heartbreaking, eye opening, and emotional. It was also a story of hope and survival. Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC.

I loved the plot line of this book - great pace and action. There were so many interesting parts! I also enjoyed the historical aspect of the book.

Lena Conti, her toddler daughter, brother, and mother leave Germany in 1928 hoping for a better life in America. But the strict examinations at Ellis Island are not to their favor. It is discovered that Lena's mother has a failing heart and her brother is deemed "feeble-minded" when it was likely a simple language problem; both are detained, to be sent back to Europe. That leaves Lena and her daughter to begin a new life at the home of a distant cousin in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. While life at the rustic cabin is more simple than Lena expected, the food is plentiful and Silas's two children are delightful. As a result little Ella thrives. But almost immediately, Lena learns about the federal government's plan for a national park in the mountains, meaning that dozens of families who have lived in the same spot for generations will be removed with little to no compensation. One dark, secretive method at the government's disposal is the growing science (false science) of eugenics whose twisted proponents paint the mountain people as lazy, inbred, feeble minded, and criminals. Children are taken from their parents, either put in asylums or adopted. People who protest are institutionalized at "The Colony" where sterilizations are forced, a basic tenet of eugenics' desire for a better race. Wiseman is known for her well researched historical fiction that pulls back the dark curtains of mistreatment of our country's most vulnerable. THE LIES THEY TOLD is yet another view into that shameful past. I could not stop reading this book, the whole time praying that we NEVER, NEVER return to such inhumane treatment of others.

What an emotional read. The author does a wonderful job of pulling you into the story and keeping you invested in the lives of the characters. I had heard of eugenics but was not aware of the extent the abuse of power the authorities exercised in order to preserve their ideal of the human race ... which inhabitants of the U.S. fit their mold of being an individual worth existing. The setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia is rustic and primitive. But the people in the area cared for and supported each other. I loved visualizing the way the natural remedies were used and how the families were intelligent ... just not necessarily book learning. The atrocities that were inflicted in the name of social justice will break your heart. There were times I almost put the book aside beside I was not sure I could absorb another word of hurt and anguish. But I am so glad I stayed with it until the end. A story of love, loss, emotional turmoil, strength of character, oppression, survival, and hope. This is one to put at the top of your to-be-read list. It is worth every moment you will spend on the pages with these amazing mountain people ... and especially Lena, her daughter, and the children whom she is tasked with providing care.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

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This story, well researched by the author, has so many redeeming qualities, families whose lives the reader wants to know more about, the immigrants who bravely came to the United States, not knowing how they might be received. Lena's and her daughter's journey to the Blue Ridge Mountains with her cousin Silas Wolfe - who was expecting an older lady to do the cooking and a young man to do the hard work - and he ends up with a young woman and a baby.

Lena finds herself in the middle of a lively community but also faces prejudice. Eugenics made a comeback in the 1920s as a way to separate out those who were thought to be "feeble minded" and of no use to society, and Lena finds herself a resident of the Virginia State Colony for the Feebleminded and Epileptics, separated from her small daughter. She must make some tough decisions to try to make it through this trying time.

Sometimes you pick up a book and end up learning things you never expected. This was one of those books.

Because of the devastating circumstances it explores, there were moments that were truly hard to get through, scenes that had me setting the book down for the rest of the day. But it was worth it.

When I started, I had no idea about the truths revealed within these pages. I didn’t realize the depth of what happened here in the US, and I am honestly furious that this history isn’t more widely known.

Beyond the eugenics aspect, the story itself was compelling. I wanted to know these characters more deeply, to see things work out for them, to witness their happiness. By chapter three, I was fully invested.

There were also shocking moments that had me audibly gasping; scenes I can’t forget, and ones I’d love to discuss (but won’t spoil here).

The author’s note at the end was especially powerful. If the author ever reads this: you achieved your goal. I am now aware, and I will continue to educate myself and share this with others. Thank you.

(4.5 stars)
The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman is a beautifully written story, but such a sad one. Wiseman takes you to Ellis Island in the late 1920s and then to the magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. We follow Lena, who has emigrated from Germany with her toddler daughter, Ella. She winds up living with a distant cousin, Silas, in those mountains, helping him care for his two children, Bonnie and Jack Henry.

The descriptions of the land and the people really sucked me in. The scenes at Ellis Island were so emotional for me. And then to see how the mountain people were so misunderstood by outsiders. I had already known about the despicable eugenics movement in the US and how it provided a blueprint for the N*zis - along with the racial separation laws in the southern US states. (Definitely check out Jacqueline Friedland’s book, Counting Backwards, for another excellent look at this issue.) It was tragic for so many and we (sadly!) are hearing echoes of this movement even today. Another thing covered in the story is the forced removal of these people from their land, to make way for the (gorgeous) Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s. It’s a shame that they had to make people leave the place their families had lived for generations. Surely there could have been a more humane way to create the park!

I fell in love with Lena, Ella, Bonnie and Jack Henry. Silas was a bit harder to bond with, but his backstory created him, so there it is. I loved meeting the other mountain neighbors as well. The story was just so sad and upsetting that it took me longer than usual to finish the book. I kept needing to take a break. There is an uplifting ending, so that helped, although I did find it a bit hard to believe. It was nice to read, though!

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance readers e-copy of this book. Thank you also to Tandem Collective Global for a beautiful paperback copy to read as part of their readalong program. All opinions are my own.

What a breathtaking novel! When Lena Conti and her daughter arrive at Ellis Island, she has high hopes dor a better life. But America isn't the welcoming place she thought for impoverished German immigrants arriving at its shores. Her brother and mother are separated from her and her daughter, and when she is finally allowed entry, she meets Silas Wolfe, who had offered jobs for her mother and brother. When she arrives in the rural Virginia mountains, she falls in love with the land and Silas's children Bonnie and John Henry.

Lena and her daughter Ella feel welcomed by the families in the mountains, however she is horrified by city government and law enforcement officials, who support a eugenics program that involves land seizure, forced sterilization, imprisonment, children taken away, and more.

The Lies They Told is a gripping, powerful, raw, and emotional look at a dark time in our country's history. This book is must-read historical fiction that is well-researched and has a strong sense of time and place. I felt fully immersed in the novel and enamored with the fully fleshed out characters that I grew to understand. I think it is important to learn about positive and negative aspects of our history so that previous mistakes and injustices are not repeated. This novel is perfect to inform and educate us in Wiseman's poignant and beautiful story that gutted me emotionally and ended in such a positive way.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books, UpLit Reads, and Ellen Marie Wiseman for an advance reader's copy and finished copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you Kensington for the ARC

First I want to start off with that the author Ellen Marie Wiseman does extensive research for each of her historical books. She says it all in the back before the book club Q&A. That being said yes some of the book isn't true, again it's all explained.
I rated this 4 stars because some parts where slow for me, and I skimmed some. Another reason was "y'all" was used so many times in just a few short pages it made me skip that part. I do understand that is how people in the south talk, I live in the south. It was just over used in my opinion.
Lena along with her mother, younger brother and her young daughter leave Germany and arrive in the United States. They go through all the motions on Ellis Island to be sure they are in good health to actually enter the U.S.
As we found out Mutti and Enzo didn't get the chance to enter the U.S. Lena and her daughter Ella proceeded without them. Lena had such high dreams and hopes for when she settled that when things didn't go according to plan. She was worried, and had every right. My heart ached for what she went through, and what the other residence on the Blue Ridge Mountains went through.
Children torn from their family and never to be returned really shocked me. To read that Lena spent the rest of her life looking at young woman trying to see if they were her Ella was pure heartache. Then it all began.....fate placed Lena in the right place at the right time. I will say I did shed a few small tears. People she thought she would never see again, were standing right before her. It was joy reading that part.
All in all it was an eye opener to read that parts of this book did happen in the U.S history and other countries followed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lies They Told is an absolutely stunning and unforgettable read. Ellen Marie Wiseman has a gift for weaving together history, emotion, and suspense in a way that keeps you completely hooked. The story is heartbreaking yet full of resilience, and the characters felt so real that I was still thinking about them long after I turned the last page. Beautifully written, powerful, and eye-opening—this is a book that will stay with me forever. A must-read for fans of historical fiction and powerful storytelling.

Historical fiction that looks into the ways the American government disrupted lives and harmed people through eugenics. The story focuses on an immigrant women who came to America for a better life and quickly learned things here were not better for a lot of people, including immigrants and the poor. Given current events in America and the way history is trying to be rewritten, it is important to have books like this to remind us how dangerous government can be when used to hurt instead of lift up it’s citizens.

Set in Virginia in the 1930s, The Lies They Told follows an immigrant mother (Lena Conti) who faces prejudice, poverty, and the brutal grip of the eugenics movement after emigrating from Germany. Lena is torn from her family on Ellis Island when her brother is accused of being feebleminded and unfit to live in the United States and she must now summon extraordinary courage to protect her young daughter Ella in a land she doesn’t know.

5 stars!

WOW. What an unforgettable story.

The Lies They Told gripped me from the very first page. Logic told me I had 350+ pages ahead, but my heart was already racing in those opening minutes. I was stressed for the characters from the start and couldn’t put it down.

Overall impressions: Raw. Thought-provoking. Anger-inducing. Gut-wrenching. Emotional.
I cried multiple times, and there were long stretches where I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Even though this is historical fiction, it’s rooted in horrifying truths: eugenics, forced sterilizations, ethnic cleansing, family separation, and systemic prejudice that unfolded here in the United States, and influenced the world beyond.

Trigger warnings: This book is beautiful and important, but not easy. Readers should be aware of sensitive content including forced sterilization, institutional abuse, medical and immigration trauma, family separation and children being taken from parents.

Through Lena’s journey as an immigrant mother, Wiseman exposes the crushing realities of poverty, prejudice, and systemic oppression under America’s Eugenics program. Those in power not only controlled people’s bodies, but also seized land and homes from poor communities, stripping away dignity and autonomy.

I cycled through worry, hope, stress, rage, concern, devastation, and heartbreak again and again. Yet despite the darkness, the story was profoundly moving. Ellen Marie Wiseman brings history to life with compassion and urgency, reminding us of what was endured, and what must never be forgotten.

This was a brilliantly written, unforgettable, and emotionally devastating read that I will be recommending to everyone. Excellent from start to finish!

What I love about historical fiction is that it introduces me to areas of history I have not heard about. In this emotional story Lena wants to find a better life in America. What she finds is a eugenics movement flowing through the mountains where she lives with her uncle, his two children, and her child. Reading this book is not for the weak hearted because it tells a horrible part of our past that should never have happened. The author weaves a story that pulls you in and does not let go. I’m still thinking about the book after finishing it. Lena represents every mother who only wants the best for her children. The book has me near tears several times because it is so heartbreaking.

🗽 Lena, a young German mother flees to the U.S. during the late 1920s in the hopes of establishing a new life and more promising future for herself and her daughter, Ella. When she arrives in the mountains of Virginia to care for her cousin Silas and his children, she learns that America is not the promised land she believed it to be. Lena will do everything in her power to protect herself, Ella, and Silas’s children from the nefarious deeds of those who seek to profit from Silas’s lands, but will it be enough?

This was a devastating yet inspiring story of the strength of the human spirit to overcome injustices and survive the most severe pain and indignity. It centers around the practice of eugenics in the U.S. prior to WWII, a belief system that inspired Hitler’s horrific ideas for ethnic cleansing though its foothold in American history has been conveniently swept under the rug. Wiseman pulled from actual places and historical events to spin her fictional tale of tragedy in a rural mountain community. The deceit and scheming of those in power to imprison and force sterilization upon people that they believed to be of a lesser class was appalling. Prepare yourself for a nightmarish web of lies that will be told to incarcerate a defenseless young mother and label her as a mentally stunted burden to society.

✅ Check this one out if you like historical fiction with powerful social commentary that explores an often overlooked aspect of history. Pairs well with moonshine on the back porch and contact info for your political representatives.

This is an extremely timely and important book. I’ve studied the pseudoscience of eugenics for years (I have a degree in Holocaust Studies), and was very impressed by The Lies They Told. It’s a very well researched book that pulls no punches. Lena’s story is devastating, but she’s such a fighter. I admire her character so much. My only complaint is that I think some parts were a bit too wordy and could have been trimmed down. Thank you Kensington and NetGalley for the eARC!

What an engaging story!

I found it so interesting to see Lena's story, and how it went from the depression in Germany (which really led to the rise of Hitler), the Eugenics movement in general, and just the overall fear and uncertainty at this time.

This book had a lot of elements to follow, so I could see that if you are not a big fan of historical fiction, you may not love this book. But if you do, you will enjoy the story that Wiseman has written.