In this powerful historical novel, it illuminates the devastating impact of America's eugenics movement in the 1930s through the story of Lena Conti, an immigrant mother fighting for her dignity and family in the face of widespread prejudice. Set in the rugged Virginia countryside, this novel explores themes of survival, hope, and social injustice as Lena struggles against a system that seeks to label her and her loved ones as "inferior." A deeply moving and tragic tale, it sheds light on a dark chapter of American history with both heartbreak and resilience.

Need to start my review with, I am a big Ellen Marie Wiseman fan, I have read every one of her books and all of them have been 5 stars. When I heard she had a new one, I was so excited to be granted an ARC for review.

Oh my goodness, she has notched up the ratchet on this one. I was blown away, rarely, do I get so involved in the story that I shed tears and actually hold my breath during some of the scenarios. I also had so many emotions when the government was removing these children due to their outrageous reasons.

I love Ms. Wiseman’s stories, her writing style is excellent, her research is spot on. She is a wonderful author and I will continue picking up every book she writes. Of all the books on eugenics I have read, this one is by far the best!! This is a high 5 stars.

My own opinion expressed in this review. Thank you to NetGalley.

🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬
THE LIES THEY TOLD
Ellen Marie Wiseman

Kensington Publishing
July 29, 2025
416 pages


This is the story of Lena Conti, a young German lady who emigrated to the US in the early 1930s for a better life for herself and her young daughter, Ella. She goes to live with a distant cousin, Silas, a widower with two young children, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of rural Virginia.

After a short while there, Lena and the family become victims of a movement focused on purifying the bloodlines of mankind. Eugenics.

Eugenics: in simple language, it is purifying future generations by ensuring only those with “desirable genes” are able to reproduce. Those with unwanted qualities are taken out of the genetic pool by forced sterilization.

What follows is a story of pure horror. There were times that I felt like throwing the book across the room. I didn't follow through because I read on my iPad, I did not want to destroy it. I was full of emotions while I was reading it, my stomach in knots.

I'm sure there are parts of the story that would be triggering for some. The story is revealing and informative. I was aware of the Eugenics movement but I never knew a lot about it. I had no idea how strong and ruthless the movement was.

The characters are so well portrayed. Their depth of despair is palpable. But, I love the fact that despite all the trauma and horror the characters experience, they still manage to show resilience. The human spirit triumphs!

As always, Ms Wiseman has done extensive research. I love the fact that the real names of a few of the people involved with the Eugenics movement are used, as is the name of institution where some of the victims were kept.

There may have been a few tears at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

The Lies They Told is a heart-wrenching and thought-provoking novel that explores love, loss, and the enduring power of resilience. With vivid storytelling and emotional depth, Ellen Marie Wiseman brings a haunting chapter of history to life. She weaves together unimaginable sorrow, hope, and healing into a story that stays with you long after the last page.

Ellen Marie Wiseman has done it again! My heart is breaking for the people who endured this treatment and I am ever so grateful for a wonderful author who is able to shed light on this part of history. I loved Lena so much and following her story, although heartbreaking, also highlighted courage and perseverance.

I cannot wait for her next novel!

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. Just mind blowing. Not a topic I know 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.

Ellen Marie Wiseman has done it again.

I am broken! Another sad and heart wrenching story. I was angry. I was sad & it reminds me of the ugly in the world right now.

I was absolutely beyond thrilled to be approved for this book. I loved every book this author has written. This one was phenomenal. What a detailed look into what it was really like to come to America through Ellis island. To be separated from loved ones in a strange land. I have also heard about eugenics in the past as well since I’m a psychology major and the insight into it in this book is fascinating and incredible accurate. Another phenomenal book that I could not put down by Wiseman. She does phenomenal research for all of her books, including this one. The characters were well developed and likable. Her books allow you to relate to real people in history and what they went through. Yet there is also a storyline at the same time as well.
I just cannot say enough good things about this book and this author. If I could give it more than five stars I would!

Wiseman has yet to disappoint. Her beautifully woven historical fiction is always well done. I was completely unaware of the issues that arose in this book. But as we learn, America wasn't all it was cracked up to be and promised to those giving their all and struggling to get here. The land of the free... I really enjoyed the characters, the story, and the ending. Big thank you to Kensington for allowing an early edition.

Oh My Goodness!
I was totally absorbed in this novel from the very first page to the last word!
It is an amazing story that I will soon not forget.

Taking place in the 1930"s-Lena and her young daughter Ella arrive to Ellis Island from Germany for a better life.
They came as a family of four, but her mother and brother are sent back and hence Lena goes to a distant cousin's home in the mountains of Virginia.
He is not expecting her.
The wish is that both she and Ella can stay and take on a caretaker role for this family. Can Lena learn this culture and do her job as expected?

This is the time in our history when anybody that is classified as "feeble-minded, or slow" can be taken away and sterilized. They were often placed in long term facilities and prisons to live until their demise.

People that reside in the hills are farmers and "simple" as the Eugenic's committee called them.
How can Lena and the folks in the mountains live and stay safe? Will they be able to remain on their farmland?
Has Lena regretted leaving her homeland for "freedom"? Is this freedom?

This is an intense, emotional, well written, historical fiction journey that I loved!


Thank you to @NetGalley and @Kensington Publishing for this wonderful ARC and allowing me to provide my own review.

Magdalena Conti is a young, unwed mother, immigrating to the United States with her mother and brother in the 1930s. After surviving the crossing in steerage, they arrive at Ellis Island. Lena is separated from her mother and brother, and clings tightly to her young daughter. Her mother and brother are labeled a burden to the United States and deported to Germany. Lena is reluctantly taken in by her distant cousin, Silas Wolfe. Silas has had his own heartbreak and has two children he needs help raising. The children have been taught to hide when anyone arrives at the house. Authorities in Virginia are trying to clear out families from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Government officials and business are working with the Eugenics Office to label the mountain people as feeble minded and immoral and use this as an excuse to break up families. When Lena falls into the clutches of the Eugenics Office, she faces an unbelievable "choice".

Ellen Marie Wiseman has taken a little known, dark chapter of American history and turned it into a heartbreaking novel. You want the best for these characters and yet, nothing is easily resolved. No short cuts are taken in the narrative and the dynamics between the characters feels like they could be your own family.

I have already recommended this title to multiple people and cannot wait for its release.

Ellen Marie Weissman has again written a superb novel shining light on a dark time in American history. The setting is the mountains of Virginia ( what is now part of Shenandoah National Park) 1928 and the people that lived there. The author has done impeccable research . It is written so beautifully and her descriptions are so realistic that you feel like you are right there. The first half of the book was a little slow, but the second half of the book was riveting; I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I found it amazing that something like this could happen and is still happening in so many states in America.. Eugenics is not new; and is not new to America. The characters are very realistic and what happened to them is extremely heartbreaking.

This book showed me a piece of history that I never knew happened and makes me want to read more about it. I received an advanced copy and oh my heart! What a truly tragic time. This book is so well written I couldn’t put it down! It should be a mandatory read in schools. It’s so sad and frightening that things like this may still be happening. I highly recommend this book.

Lena is a young, single mother immigrant who is separated from her mother and brother at Ellis Island and moves to West Virginia with Silas Wolfe to help care for his two children and his home. Lena quickly learns that the children have been taught to hide when the sheriff or strangers arrive at their mountain farm, but she doesn't fully understand why. As the months pass, she begins to learn how the government plans to seize Silas's land and the land of his neighbors. In the process, children are deemed feebleminded and taken from their parents. The fear is real and Lena, Silas and their neighbors are always on edge. While this book really exposes the American eugenics campaign with some tough story lines, it is also an educational read in understanding how people were treated in the past, and still are being treated today.

Ellen Marie Wiseman has the uncanny ability to bring you back in time to see the horrors and injustices brought upon women throughout history. This book was equal parts heartbreaking as well as heartwarming.

When Lena and her family depart Germany to America in hopes for a better future, the life they seek remains out of reach. Her mother and brother are immediately deported back to Germany so Lena embarks on her own with her baby Ella. Taken in by distant relatives, she forms a strong attachment with the children she is caring for but they are in danger from the state whose goal is to take their land by any means necessary.

You will feel rage and helplessness at the trials Lena endured and the unfairness of it all is infuriating. This was an unsettling look into some of the awful things the oppressed have experienced. Yet, we see strength, determination and most of all love win in the end.

The Lies They Told, by Ellen Marie Wiseman, takes place from 1928 to about 1950. Lena is 19 years old and is on a ship coming to the USA. She is with her mother and younger brother. They are coming from Germany to make a better life. She also has her two year old daughter Ella. When they get to Ellis Island they are in for a big shock. Instead of being welcomed and sent on their way they are examined and questioned then determined if they are "qualified" to enter the states. When Lena is accepted with her daughter, her mother and brother are rejected for being determined, Too "old and weak" and her brother for determined "feebleminded" of course none of this is true but the creeps who tested them decided to deport her family. Heartbroken, Lena is sent on her way with her toddler daughter. she is met by Silas a distant cousin who has come to pick her up. He is furious when told the other family members have been sent back to Germany.
He takes Lena and Ella back home to Virginia where Lena is to live and take care of Silas's two children Bonnie and Jack. Lena is told by the kids and Silas to hide when "authorities" come around. there have been family members in the hills who are taken away because they are determined feebleminded, backwards. and many other cruel untrue names. During this time in history there is the horrors of "Eugenics' where people such as sheriffs, social workers who take people away to have them put in institutions, sterilize them. remove children from families. Silas"s remaining family are also in danger of ignorant authorities who may take family members take their homes even. As in many of Ellen marie Wiseman she writes of subjects that really did happen in the USA. In the 1920 and 30s Eugenics reared it's ugly head breaking up family members with the excuse to "improve" humans by removing who whey felt were Unworthy, unclean, Imbeciles and many other cruel disgusting names. Once again a reminder that throughout history some human behavior can be despicable. Don't want to give spoilers but this book had me outraged by this time in history. I would give this book a 4.5. I received a copy from NetGalley.

A land of freedom. Lena Conti, her two-year-old daughter Ella, her brother Enzo, and her mother have finally made it to America in the 1930s. Lena will soon realize that America isn't all she had imagined it to be. According to Enzo's inspection, he is unfit to remain in the United States. Lena's mother and Enzo will be sent back to Germany. To save her daughter Ella, Lena must make it alone and burdened in America. Having fled poverty and hunger in Germany, she is determined to provide a better life for her daughter. An uncle, Silas Wolfe, takes Lena and Ellla into his home in the Virginia mountains. Due to the death of Silas's wife, he needs help caring for his two children. It is with reluctance that he agrees to take Lena in. At Wolfe Hollow, Lena is shocked by the amount of food stored up. It is not long before Lena realizes there is something wrong. Every time the sheriff comes around, the children are taught to hide. It has been decided by the government that mountain people are idiots, immoral, and backward. They intend to turn their land into a state park via eminent domain. For the sake of Eugenics, they are stealing the children away from their parents. There is a fateful day when the sheriff appears with other government officials. Their plan is to take Bonnie, John Henry, and Ella against their will. Lena is placed in a sanatoriam for imbeciles. What chance does Lena have of escaping the sanatoriam and reuniting with her children? How does Silas react when he discovers that his entire family has been taken? As the book progresses, there is both sadness and redemption.

"The Lies They Told" is an incredibly poignant story that captures the struggles of its protagonist, Lena, as she arrives at Ellis Island as an unmarried young woman with her daughter. From the outset, she faces the harsh realities that accompany the immigrant experience in America. Lena is taken in by a relative, Silas Wolfe, a widower in need of help with his two kids. Despite the numerous obstacles she encounters, Lena begins to forge a connection with the kids and starts to care for them.
Her life changes erraticly when she becomes involved in the ruthless world of eugenics. The emotional weight of the narrative affected me immensely . A great read! Look forward to more by this author.

Not a fan of this novel. At first it was the struggles of a young woman coming to America through Ellis Island. Then it became a story about rural life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Finally the story segues into an exposé on the Eugenics movement. While some aspects were eye opening and informative, overall I struggled to get through this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

🌸𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗢𝗟𝗗🌸
𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔩 𝔣𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫
🗓️𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟸𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★★

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...In rural 1930s Virginia, a young immigrant mother fights for those she loves against America’s rising eugenics movement

🌻𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...I adore this author! @ellenmariewiseman can weave a story that teaches while also makes you feel so much! 🙌I was enraged, hopeful, flabbergasted & emotional all at the same time! 😳🩷 Her stories always cover topics that are long forgotten. I knew absolutely nothing about this Eugenics program (aka more like a heinous cult) and this wasn’t all that long ago & in my hometown of America!!! 🇺🇸 Flabbergasted!! This setting was just right up the road from me too so I could picture everything so vividly. I was broken for this family & all they endured. The title is the lies they are told & geez, telling young women they are getting their appendix removed but actually sterilizing them because their “stock” might not be what certain leaders think it should be. This wouldve been done to me back then because these country folk talk country-like(as I do🤠)…it didn’t mean they were “feeble minded” that is just how they communicated back then. There is SO much more to this story though so yall must read it when it comes out! And this cover is giving me all the feels! 🌸🌼🌷