Welcome to the Everything We Thought Was True by Lisa Montanaro book tour hosted by Suzy Approved Book Tours.

Perfect for fans of This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel and We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange.

Everything We Thought Was True

New York, 1983: When an argument erupts during dinner and Teresa Antinori, a typically docile wife and mother, hurls plates filled with pasta sugo e piselli at her husband, Frank—the future of their Italian American family changes forever. Frank has found a safe harbor with Teresa, but longs to truly be himself, while Teresa struggles with the startling discovery that her husband is gay and living a lie.

Los Angeles 2015: Thirty-two years later, their daughter Lena is still picking up the pieces. When her father calls with unexpected news, it throws her right back into her least favorite place—the past. Lena is torn between supporting her father and her enduring loyalty to her mother, who once demanded secrecy at all costs. 

Told in alternating points of view—Frank and Teresa in the past, and Lena in the present—EVERYTHING WE THOUGHT WAS TRUE is the story of a family trying to reconcile their past, understand the secret at the heart of the family’s rupture, and embrace the future. Brimming with love and loss, heartache and hope, this multigenerational family saga weaves a tapestry of identity, healing, and forgiveness.

Everything We Thought Was True Book Blurbs

“Lisa Montanaro’s powerful first novel sweeps effortlessly across decades, pulling the reader along with exquisite precision. As we witness the family’s hidden secrets, peeled back a layer at a time, we are reminded of how hard truths from decades earlier continue to haunt us. No matter how much we’d like to think we’ve moved on. Everything We Thought Was True, evocative and unblinking, is both a coming-of-age classic and masterfully timely and topical. ~ Alan Winnikoff, author of Not Sleeping and The Weekend

“A masterfully written ‘love is love’ story told during a time when freedom came with rules. Everything We Thought Was True is a love story but also a story of fear and disbelief. Everyone pays a price in this family that loses almost everything before they find themselves and each other. A story of secrets, lies, triumph, and joy by a debut author who bears watching.”~ Barbara Conrey, USA Today bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye & My Secret to Keep

More Praise

“Introspective and emotional, bringing you deep into the characters’ feelings, Lisa Montanaro gifts us an important and engrossing novel for all, no matter your sexual orientation. Brava, Ms. Montanaro.” ~ Linda Rosen, award-winning author of The Emerald Necklace, Sisters of the Vine, and The Disharmony of Silence

“Mining her family history, Lisa Montanaro has crafted a heart-warming and emotionally complex debut that masterfully explores themes of guilt, rage, forgiveness, and ultimately redemption, as an Italian American family struggles with a secret that threatens to tear them apart. Written with compassion and grace, this is a story that will resonate with anyone who has struggled to come to terms with the complexities of the people they love the most.” – Maggie Smith, author of the award-winning Truth and Other Lies

Everything We Thought Was True Review

Be still my heart! This story rocked me to my core. Can you imagine finding out your dad (married to your mom) is gay? At a time before being gay was as accepted as it is today… It had been a deeply guarded secret. Told in multiple POV, Frank and Teresa start at their beginning as newlyweds. Frank tries to deny his desire for men while Teresa catches on. The second POV, revealed by their daughter Lena, as she struggles with having a gay dad and his upcoming marriage to Oliver. The level of growth in the characters is remarkably woven into the story. Possibly because the book is based on her own family. The feelings are raw. The struggle is real. The book is not easily put down. Great debut. 

About The Author

Lisa Montanaro is part no-nonsense Italian American New Yorker and part sunny Californian. She has a unique background as a performer, teacher of deaf students, recovered lawyer, coach, speaker, and author. Everything We Thought Was True is her debut novel.

Her chapter, “The Brand Called You! Personal & Professional Branding for Authors,” was included in Launch Pad: The Countdown to Marketing Your Book, published by Red Penguin Books in 2023. She is also the author of The Ultimate Life Organizer: An Interactive Guide to a Simpler, Less Stressful & More Organized Life, published by Peter Pauper Press in 2011. Lisa serves as a Webinar Host for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) and is a passionate member of its Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She is also the facilitator of the Retro COLAGE group for adult children of LGBTQ parents. Her blog and newsletter, Prosecco & Prose, are where she shares author updates, writerly musings, book recommendations, and virtual bubbly! 

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Everything We Thought Was True Book Tour

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January

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