For the most part, I kept my head down when I was writing Here We Lie, holding the subject matter close and deflecting questions until it was well on its way. Sometimes, I’ve learned, when you set out to write one book, another idea keeps demanding to be heard. That happened with this story, which underwent various iterations in my mind and on paper before becoming the book you are holding in your hands. Here We Lie is a small part of a much larger conversation, and I’m humbled to submit my piece.
And just like raising a child (last time I’ll use that analogy, I promise), it took a small village to bring this book to life. The team at Park Row Books deserves my gratitude, especially Michelle Meade for her support and my editor, Liz Stein, for her wise (and so patient!) eye. Quinn Banting designed this amazing cover, and Heather Martin curbed my obsession with hyphens. I’m also grateful to those in marketing and publicity, especially Emer Flounders, who work tirelessly to promote authors and their books. Thanks, too, to the good people at Trident Media Group: Melissa Flashman believed in this book from day one, and Sarah Phair helped me cross the finish line.
I’m indebted to the Go Deep writers, especially Shanyn Vitti Avila, Yvonne Sanchez, Debbie Soro and Tim Buchanan, among others. It does my heart good to listen, share and laugh with you.
Beth Slattery and Kelly Jones selflessly read drafts of this novel and provided much-needed nudges in the right direction. Thanks also to Leah Dashe, Beth Boon and Sara Viss for wise insight and hand-holding. For his videography skills and general friendship, I’m grateful to Rob Brittain, who may or may not have moved out of state just to avoid me randomly showing up on his doorstep. For general listening and commiseration, thanks to the trivia crew at P. Wexford’s and the Del Monte Avenue Feature Film Freaks.
Every day, my students at the University of California, Merced, challenge me and make me a better teacher and human being. And—dare I say it?—they keep me young. Writing this book made me reminisce about my own experiences at Dordt College—so naive! So hopeful! I’m grateful to the roommates I had along the way: Sarah Bliss Bakker, Sarah Mosser, Stephanie Brown, Charity Lopez Heerema, Jodie Zwart, Jolene Van Dyke, Lisa Smit, Heidi Bakker and Melissa Phaneuf Lucania. We’re pretty much scattered around North America at this point, but I’d give anything to have us all together again.
And thank you, always, to my dear EGs. This last year—and the writing of this book—has cemented in me the belief in friendship and in each other. I’m a better person in every way for knowing all of you—Cameron Burton, Alisha Wilks-Vasche, Jenna Valponi, Whitney Fanjul, Laura Ochoa-Wilbur, Nichole Meyer, Amie Carter, Michelle Charpentier and Mary Swier.
Much love and appreciation goes to my Treick and DeBoard relations near and far. Three cheers for sisters and sisters-in-law—Debbie Miller, Beth Boon, Sara Viss, Heather DeBoard-Ayala and Christina DeBoard Young.
There are many others who I’m probably forgetting—it’s known around these parts as book brain—but with all my heart, I need to thank Will DeBoard. He always believes in me, even when I don’t believe in myself. Best, he makes me laugh—something I might forget to do otherwise.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paula Treick DeBoard is the author of The Mourning Hours, The Fragile World and The Drowning Girls. She is a lecturer in writing at the University of California, Merced, and lives in Northern California with her husband, Will, and their four-legged brood.
HERE
WE
LIE
Paula Treick DeBoard
Reader’s Guide
Questions for Discussion
In the beginning of the book, Megan finds herself in an agonizing situation with her father, who is suffering with the advanced stages of mesothelioma. Why does she agree to do what she does? How do you feel about her decision? Is it understandable under the circumstances?
At one point in the book, Lauren compares the way her mother talks about Mabreys to the Mafia family in The Godfather. What drives the Mabreys? Are they right in assuming that their wealth makes them a target? Does their behavior seem consistent with that of other powerful families?
Megan tells Lauren a series of lies about her childhood and upbringing when they first meet. Why do you think she does this? What is she hoping to accomplish, and does she succeed? In what ways do Megan’s lies come back to haunt her? Is there such a thing as a harmless lie?
After the incident on Megan’s last night on The Island, why doesn’t she immediately tell Lauren the truth about what happened to her? Do you agree with her decision not to come forward to authorities? Why does she leave The Island, and what prompts her decision not to return to Keale at the end of the summer?
This book deals with a fictional situation that unfortunately is all too real for many women who experience sexual assault. Do we hold our famous figures (politicians, celebrities, etc.) to a different standard when it comes to these types of crimes? Are Megan’s feelings of powerlessness understandable?
Megan observes that society prefers its victims a certain way—innocent, sympathetic, uncomplicated. Do you think these observations are true? If so, where are these beliefs learned? How can they be challenged? What might encourage more women to come forward in these types of situations?
After everything that has happened between the two, do you think Megan and Lauren can ever resume a friendship, or move forward with a new, changed relationship? How difficult is it to forgive a friend who has lied or wronged you, and to trust that person again?
A Conversation with Paula Treick DeBoard
The novel deals with female friendship, sexual assault and political scandal. Why did you decide to bring these three elements together to form the narrative? What was your inspiration for this story?
I’ve learned that with most of the things I write, the end product isn’t what I initially envisioned. Somewhere over the course of writing the first draft of this book and letting the characters really speak to me, the story that I planned changed. I initially envisioned these two very different girls as college roommates driven apart and reunited years later, but the idea of a sexually charged political scandal only came to me later. I’m an avid news watcher and an obsessive news reader, and some of what I was watching and reading sneaked into my story as I was going. The more I wrote about Lauren and Megan, the more some of this story line felt natural and even necessary for me to write.
The relationship between Megan and Lauren is complicated and intense. They love each other but they also get frustrated, jealous and angry with each other. Can you speak to their dynamics? Did you draw on your own female friendships?
I’ve dedicated this book to my sisters and my female friends, who have blessed my life in immeasurable ways. As I grow older, I value these relationships more than ever, which is not to say that friendship can’t be full of complexities. Megan and Lauren are young, and due to the events of the book, their relationship doesn’t get the chance to grow and change, and they don’t get to experience each other at different stages of life. Thankfully, my friends and I are over the drama stages—mostly we cheer each other on and comfort each other when things don’t go well, and find new ways to make each other laugh.
Here We Lie is told in alternating first-person perspectives and moves between the past and present. Why did you choose to narrate the story this way?
I thought it was very important for each of the main characters to have a voice in the story. I liked that Megan and Lauren came from such different backgrounds and as a result saw the world in such different ways. In my early drafts, I focused on the years they were in college, and later it was fun to craft their lives fourteen years down the road. They did get to have a mini college reunion, only not under the best of circumstances. I wanted the time gap to represent the ways that our words and actions have consequences, sometimes resulting in years of hurt and resentment.
The book is set in a private all-girls coll
ege in New England. Why did you choose to do this? Have you personally experienced this type of setting? What did you draw upon to create this world?
I attended a private liberal arts school in Iowa—not an all-girls school, but one that at times did feel secluded from the rest of the world. Keale is mostly a product of my imagination, but it’s an imagination formed by reading and watching and listening, and I hope the result is a place that feels authentic. It wasn’t until I was in college, on my own and more than a thousand miles from my family, that I really began to think for myself and learn who I was and what I was capable of doing. I wanted Megan and Lauren to have these realizations, too, although they came to them in somewhat different and more challenging ways. I can also vouch for the fact that the friends you meet in college can be your friends for life, even when you live in different countries and communicate via social media. That’s how it is with my good friend Sarah. We went “potluck” as roommates our freshman year, lived together for four years without managing to kill each other and still keep in touch.
Lauren feels like an outsider in her family and is deeply against following the traditional Mabrey path. What did you seek to explore through Lauren’s attitude and disregard for her family’s ideals and values?
In my mind, Lauren just wanted a “regular” family. Most of the time in this book, she’s blind to the privileges that come with wealth and connections, and she just wishes she could have a life where she doesn’t have to live up to the expectations of others. It might not be easy to have sympathy for a character like Lauren when there are so many people struggling against very real challenges, but she represents what it’s like to grow up in a politically charged pressure cooker. Ultimately, she’s rejecting not just her family but being inauthentic; ironically, that’s part of what draws her to people like Megan and Joe.
It’s revealed early in the story that Megan feels she is responsible for helping her father die, and this weighs heavily on her mind. Where did this idea come from? Do you know anyone who has had to live with such a secret?
I’ve known many family members and friends whose lives have been affected by cancer, and I struggle with the idea of a medical system that prolongs life beyond what might be natural and at great cost to patients and their loved ones. While I was writing the first chapter about Megan and her father, I found myself wrapped up in their situation. Megan wrestles with a terrible sort of moral complexity there, and ultimately, that’s a burden that stays with her over the years. I haven’t experienced a situation like this myself, and don’t know of others who have—but I do know that we all carry secrets and burdens, and those do have a way of sticking with us and shaping the people we become.
ISBN-13: 9781460398753
Here We Lie
Copyright © 2018 by Paula Treick DeBoard
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