The Lies They Told

Behind The Book:

Did learning about the psychiatric testing at Ellis Island and the delousing chambers at Hoffman Island change the way you think about the traditional American immigrant story? What surprised you most?

Before reading this novel, what did you know about the American eugenics movement? What surprised or disturbed you most about what you learned?

Lena's mother and brother were turned away and deported after being judged "burdens to society," while Lena and her baby were allowed to stay. What does it reveal about how immigrants were evaluated at the time, and who got to decide a person's worth?

Lena arrived hoping to start a new life with her family, but found herself alone in a foreign country. How did the loss of her mother and brother affect her choices, fears, and strength in the story?

Lena came to America hopeful for opportunities and a welcoming relative. How did her experience match the "American Dream" she envisioned? Are there similarities between the struggles of immigrants in the 1920s and 30s and those today?

At the Virginia State Colony, Lena was labeled, controlled, and stripped of basic choices. What moments affected you most? How did she manage to hold onto her identity and hope?

Silas sponsored Lena's mother and her brother, but instead he got Lena, a young mother with a baby. Do you think he treated Lena fairly given what he'd been promised? What obligations, if any, do you think Silas had to Lena and her baby?

Did your view of Silas change as the story progressed? Were there moments when you sympathized with him-and others when you were angry with him?

Lena was a stranger, but over time she formed a strong bond with his children. What connected them? How did these relationships change Lena's feelings about home and family after she was separated from her own mother and brother?

When families were forced from the land they had lived on for generations to create Shenandoah National Park, did you understand the government's justification? Did the promise of public benefit justify what happened to individual families?

What pressures do you think led to Silas's tragic death-his loss of land, purpose, or ability to protect his family? How does his story show the human cost of these policies beyond what is recorded?

 Lena had many reasons to flee, yet she stayed. What do you think kept her there: love for the children, lack of options, fear of authorities, or hope for improvement? Would you have run away in her place?

Motherhood is central to Lena's story, while authorities repeatedly try to decide who is "fit" to have and raise children. How does the novel connect motherhood with power, freedom, and control?

Which moment in Lena's story made you the angriest, saddest, or most shocked-and why?

How did you feel when the children were taken, and why do you think the state viewed them as something to control rather than protect?

Not everyone who participated in these systems saw themselves as cruel. How did the novel portray the difference between following the rules, looking the other way, and actively resisting injustice?

What did you make of the irony that Lena fled Germany seeking freedom, only to encounter eugenic ideas and forced sterilization in America? Did this change the way you viewed her story?

What do you think the title The Lies They Told means? Who was telling the lies, who was expected to believe them, and which "lies" had the greatest consequences for Lena and the other families?