We invest our time and/or money to read a book mostly because of a feeling we are seeking, whether it’s reassurance, relief, belonging, understanding, or some feeling we can’t quite articulate, but we recognize it when a book description taps into it.
We also choose to read the books we think might contain the answers to our burning questions, whether it’s a highly personal question, like Should I leave my spouse? Or a more general query, like How did the world get this way?
I’ve blogged a lot about why I wrote Would I Lie to You? The Amazing Power of Being Honest in a World That Lies (which comes out December 31).
But why would you want to read it? That’s an entirely different question, and one all authors should think about.
So, the family and friends who love me would likely buy whatever book I wrote, even if it was a book about puddles. (Thank you, people who love me and have pre-ordered the book!)
But the rest of the world is going to need a better reason than my charm to read the book. I’ve been thinking about why someone would want to read Would I Lie to You? and I came up with a list. Maybe you see yourself in one of these things.
1. You feel frustrated—hopeless even—at how dishonest people can be.
2. You feel like you need to be doing more to change a dishonest world.
3. You feel the shame of judgment and are really tired of it.
4. You feel dissatisfied in your relationships and wonder what honesty might have to do with it.
5. You go through whole days feeling like an imposter.
6. You feel like the truth is too scary to say and you struggle to be direct with people for fear of hurting their feelings.
7. You feel like you aren’t able to be yourself and communicate how you want to communicate in certain situations (or all situations).
8. You feel anger at the political situation and can’t even read the fucking news.
9. You feel misaligned with who you are and who you want to be.
10. You feel hurt by the lies someone you love told you (or pissed off by the lies someone you don’t even like told you).
11. You know that you have hurt, or are currently hurting, someone you love with lies, but you aren’t sure what to do about it.
12. You don’t recognize yourself on social media.
13. You are trying to navigate a conflict of interest and finding it confusing.
14. You are in a long-term romantic relationship and fear you might be in love with somebody else.
15. You have a fear of losing everything (job, reputation, relationships) if you tell the truth.
16. You feel like a hypocrite with your kids.
17. You feel unqualified to parent and answer your kids’ most difficult questions truthfully.
18. You have a feeling of sobering up to a truth about yourself you didn’t want to see.
19. You feel like half your life is just glossing over situations, and you’d like a bit less gloss and more rawness.
20. You’re just plain curious how honest of a person you really are.
I can’t promise that I have the perfect answer for every one of these, but I write about every one of them, because I have felt them all. If anything in that list sparks something for you, I hope you will check out Would I Lie to You?
You can follow these links to pre-order, even if you want to order it from your local bookstore (that’s the IndieBound option). The audio version is also available at Amazon.
Pre-order through Barnes & Noble
Thanks for your support!