Truth Is (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781552122990)

"Truth Is" is Merre Sargeant's second work of fiction. She previously published a novel titled "Imperfections" in 1989. She has had a flair for creative writing since she was a little girl. While enrolled at a small single sex school, techers nurtured her as well as her literal style of creativity. Especially inspirational was a teacher of a course called "The American Dream," a compendium of reading, creative writing and essay writing, who encouraged Merre to harness her daydreams onto paper. Merre has taken creative writing and journalism courses in college and been a member of a writing group and book club.

By day, Merre works as an administrative assistant in a girl's private preparatory school in Baltimore, providing material which she used as a backdrop for two of the characters in her book. She considers writing as both a passion and a curse. By night, she kickboxes and then spends up to five hours writing and rewriting stories.

The idea for this plot came about during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, when Clinton gave blanket permission for everyone to lie, omit fact and deny responsibility for their actions. While Merre doesn't wish for her book to be "preachy" or moralistic, she does believe it will make people think twice about lying. Some people lie as easily as they draw a breath. Some people believe that omission of fact is not a true lie. Sometimes a lie is told to protect someone. And sometimes a secret is kept to avoid telling the truth. But the bottom line is that when a lie is told, truth is not, and somewhere down the line, someone gets hurt. This is the crux of the five plots in "Truth Is." This novel is also about survival of the spirit, and hope, and dreams and how Davis, the main character in the book, overcomes emotional adversity to find a place for himself in his family.