“Lies My Mother Never Told Me”

Kaylie Jones is the daughter of James Jones, a prominent American author famous for his contributions to WWII literature. Her family friends included Truman Capote, Irvin Shaw, and William Styron, but as Jones makes crystal clear in “Lies My Mother Never Told Me,” not all things are what they appear to be. A young alcoholic, Jones struggled to emerge from the shadow of her father’s legacy. The Washington Post says that Jones “portrays the ethos of a time when art was everything, and boozing was considered essential to its creation.” In a starred review, Publishers Weekly writes: “Absolutely addictive, this story of struggle and triumph is a joy to read, thanks to Jones’s gift for handling dark material with humor and grace.”