Necessary Lies: A Novel

Necessary Lies is set in rural Grace County, North Carolina fifty years ago, during a period of state-mandated sterilizations and racial tension. The novel follows two young women whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. Ivy Hart, fifteen, becomes the primary caregiver for her grandmother, older sister, and nephew after her parents' death. Living as tenants on a small tobacco farm, she struggles with her grandmother's aging, her sister's mental illness, and her own epilepsy, uncertain whether she can provide what they need. Jane Forrester arrives in Grace County as a new social worker. She becomes deeply invested in her clients' lives, creating tension with her boss and husband. As Jane grows closer to the Hart women, she uncovers dark secrets on their farm and faces a difficult choice: take drastic action to help them, or accept defeat against what she believes is wrong. Both women are haunted by tragedy and separated by circumstance, yet their paths converge. Together they must confront a central question: how do you know what is right when everyone tells you it is wrong?