Book description
Why do we lie?
Because we are frightened of being humiliated, being treated like an
object, being rejected, losing control of things, and, most of all, we
are frightened of uncertainty. Often we get our lies in before any of
these things can happen. We lie to maintain our vanity. We lie when we
call our fantasies the truth. Lying is much easier than searching for
the truth and accepting it, no matter how inconvenient it is. We lie to
others, and, even worse, we lie to ourselves.
In both private and public life, we damage ourselves with our lies, and
we damage other people. Lies destroy mutual trust, and fragment our
sense of who we are.
Lies have played a major part in climate change and the global economic
crisis. Fearing to change how they live, many people prefer to continue
lying rather than acknowledge that we are facing a very uncertain but
undoubtedly unpleasant future unless we learn how to prefer the truths
of the real world in which we live rather than the comforting lies that
ultimately betray us. We are capable of changing, but will we choose to
do this? 'Rowe asks why we tell lies and puts the answer down to a
mixture of vanity and terror.…all pretty toxic, as far as personal
relationships are concerned, but Rowe goes further: our failure to tell
the truth is behind all manner of ills, from the current economic crisis
to global warming…scary stuff, but Rowe is so wise that you begin to
think it might be possible to change' Guardian
'Rowe has a clear, easy style…Rowe is accurate in her perceptions, and
persuasive in her presentation of them…she paints a nuanced picture of
why lying is always dangerous, and why we should cultivate an attitude
of considered scepticism' TLS
'Her analysis is gripping, astute and incisive…parts of this book are
hilarious' FT
'[A] seer… with qualities that place her between sainthood and genius'
Fay Weldon Dorothy Rowe was born in Australia in 1930, and worked as a
teacher and child psychologist before coming to England, where she
obtained her PhD at Sheffield University. From 1972 until 1986 she was
head of Clinical Psychology. She is now engaged in writing, lecturing
and research, and is world-renowned for her work on how we communicate
and why we suffer. Her books include ''Wanting Everything', ''Beyond
Fear' and ''Time On Our Side'.
