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 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Two Ways The Kindest Lie examines the heartbreaking divide between Black and white communities and plumbs the emotional depths of the struggles faced by ordinary Americans in the wake of the financial crisis perfectly capturing the profound racial injustices and class inequalities roiling society. A promise could betray you. Its 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. Hes 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 shed 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 towns already searing racial tensions sending Ruth and Midnight on a collision course that could upend both their lives. The Kindest Lie examines the heartbreaking divide between Black and white communities and plumbs the emotional depths of the struggles faced by ordinary Americans in the wake of the financial crisis. Capturing the profound racial injustices and class inequalities roiling society Nancy Johnsons debut novel offers an unflinching view of motherhood in contemporary America and the never-ending quest to achieve the American Dream.