Books Historical Fiction

The Lies They Told

August 14, 2025August 14, 2025 by onemoreexclamation

Welcome to The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman book tour hosted by Suzy Approved Book Tours.

About The Lies They Told

Title: The Lies They Told

Author: Ellen Marie Wiseman

Released: July 29, 2025

Find it: Amazon

When Lena Conti—a young, unwed mother—sees immigrant families being forcibly separated on Ellis Island, she vows not to let the officers take her two-year old daughter. But the inspection process is more rigorous than she imagined, and she is separated from her mother and brother, who are labeled burdens to society, denied entry, and deported back to Germany. Now, alone but determined to give her daughter a better life after years of living in poverty and near starvation, she finds herself facing a future unlike anything she had envisioned.

Silas Wolfe, a widowed family relative, reluctantly brings Lena and her daughter to his weathered cabin in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to care for his home and children. Though the hills around Wolfe Hollow remind Lena of her homeland, she struggles to adjust. Worse, she is stunned to learn the children in her care have been taught to hide when the sheriff comes around. As Lena meets their neighbors, she realizes the community is vibrant and tight knit, but also senses growing unease. The State of Virginia is scheming to paint them as ignorant, immoral, and backwards so they can evict them from their land, seize children from parents, and deal with those possessing “inferior genes.”

After a social worker from the Eugenics Office accuses Lena of promiscuity and feeblemindedness, her own worst fears come true. Sent to the Virginia State Colony for the Feebleminded and Epileptics, Lena face impossible choices in hopes of reuniting with her daughter—and protecting the people, and the land, she has grown to love.

Review for The Lies They Told

This historical fiction gem pulls you in from the start, following Lena and her family as they leave Germany dreaming of a new life—only to be met with the harsh, humiliating reality of Ellis Island and eventual deportation of her mom and brother. Lena’s journey takes her to rural Virginia, where she finds herself caring for two spirited kids, Bonnie and Jack Henry, while adjusting to country life. But when the sheriff and a social worker show up, things take a dark and heart-wrenching turn.

Set against the backdrop of 1930s Virginia, this story doesn’t shy away from the devastating truths of the era—forced sterilizations, stolen land for Shenandoah National Park, and the cruel treatment of the so-called “feeble-minded.” It’s tragic, eye-opening, and deeply human, yet still manages to offer glimmers of hope and love. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, it’s the kind of book that sticks with you long after the last page.

I did listen to the audiobook and the narration was superb.

About The Author

A first-generation German American, Ellen Marie Wiseman discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in NYS.

She is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into twenty languages. Her debut novel, THE PLUM TREE, is loosely based on her mother’s stories about growing up in Germany during the chaos of WWII. Bookbub named THE PLUM TREE one of thirteen books to read if you loved ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE.

Ellen’s second novel, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND, was named a Huffington Post Best Books of Summer 2015. Her third novel, COAL RIVER, was called “one of the most unputdownable books of 2015” by The Historical Novel Review. THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN, was named A GREAT GROUP READS Selection of the Women’s National Book Association and National Reading Group Month and a Goodreads Best Book of the Month. THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR was an instant New York Times Bestseller.

Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and a spoiled Shih-tzu named Izzy. When she’s not busy writing, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Website – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter: @EllenMarieWise