‘The Kindest Lie’ Is A Tender Meditation On Family

Without diving into sentimentality, debut author Nancy Johnson examines the bonds that bring people together — and the lies that threaten to tear them apart

In Over Coffee, writer, reader, and haphazard reviewer Angela Lashbrook chats with authors about their recent books, and quizzes them on their hot breakfast takes.

It’s Election Night, 2008, and things are looking good for Ruth Tuttle. Barack Obama’s win looks more imminent by the hour, and Ruth, a Black chemical engineer, is surrounded by friends at the beautiful new Chicago home she recently purchased with her loving husband, Xavier.

Yet Ruth is filled with a sense of unease. Now that their life is about as in order (apparently) as is possible for a young couple — their careers are on the right track, they own a home, they’re young and healthy and financially secure — Xavier is pushing for kids. But Ruth has a secret: as a teenager, she gave birth to a baby that her grandmother, who raised her, promptly whisked away to unknown origins. Ruth, meanwhile, graduated high school and attended Yale, never seriously digging into what happened to her child. But now that she’s looking into having another, she feels the pressure to open up to Xavier about her…