Would I Lie to You?

The Amazing Power of Being Honest in a World That Lies

By: Judi Ketteler

Narrated by: Judi Ketteler

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Inspired by her popular New York Times article, "How Honesty Could Make You Happier", award-winning journalist Judi Ketteler takes a deep dive into the hard truths about honesty, from her own personal story to the exploding field of research on the subject, at a time when the world seems full of dishonesty - from elected officials, to corporate leaders, to tabloid-like fakery that gets passed off as news....

We all want the truth, don’t we? In fact, we demand it. We divorce spouses who withhold it. We insist our children practice it. We’re hurt when our friends don’t divulge it. We’re incensed by politicians who invent it. But when it comes to our own behavior, how often do we transgress? Out of diplomacy, kindness, sympathy, and privacy, we don’t always tell the truth. Yet we often barely notice. So, what happens when we do notice? When we truly focus on the decisions we’re making around honesty? When we view our entire life through the lens of honesty?

Award-winning journalist and New York Times contributor Judi Ketteler looked at her Facebook page and saw a content mother, a generous friend and sister, a good daughter, and a wife with a happy marriage. It wasn’t quite the whole story though. In thinking about all the truths she wasn’t revealing, Judi realized that the line between truth and deception was beginning to blur. How often had she herself paltered, exaggerated, concealed, side-stepped, or spun the truth? To answer that question, Judi started her "Honesty Journal". She set out to get to the bottom of her complicated relationship with honesty and confronted her perennial fear of speaking the truth in social situations, among friends, in the workplace, with her kids - and finally, inside her complicated marriage.

Blending her personal journey with the latest research into the psychology of deception, Would I Lie to You? is a timely consideration of the joys and pains of truth in a world that seems committed to lying.

©2019 Judi ketteler (P)2019 Recorded Books

Thanks Judi

I generally hate to lie. It makes me feel bad, I want to be comfortable with the truth (good or bad), and lying often seems to come out as a lie later. I recently came across another article by Judi, unrelated to lies, which immediately made me like her. She shared a personal story of how her routine went against society norms and how she examined this and came to peace with it. Most of us seem to be programmed robots, and I think we all need to examine our beliefs, feelings, and reactions more. This is what the author does, and I love it. When I saw she had a book examining lying, I was immediately interested. I’m currently going through my own issues with this. I grew up in a family that did not share the personal tough stuff, and as a quiet guarded person, I continue that tradition. This is omission. I want to become open and transparent. I had a married friend of mine (one of my few friends) recently tell me, “you are my only friend here now”. I was shocked that he would share this with me. I want to learn from him. My girlfriend of 20 years is brutally honest to me. (She also though seems comfortable to lie in other areas of life). She will regularly point out my biggest flaws and remind me of my deepest insecurities. I thought, doesn’t this person have any compassion or sense of what she is doing? I now think the problem lies more in me. I still love her deeply (not much in a romantic way), but I have been thinking about moving on. I’ve been having an emotional affair with another woman, whom I’ve never met in person, for about six months now. I have a lot to figure out, and I will need to have some difficult honest talks soon, including with family and friends. From a very early age, I pretty much never believed in black or white. What I love about this author and this book is the thorough personal examination of this topic. She comes at the subject from all sides of life, always with personal stories to share. Scientific studies and views from other authors are also included. The book was quite long, and while Judi might have elaborated in places more than I needed, the book was interesting and informative throughout. People lie all the time for a wide variety of reasons, and I think it generally has a real negative outcome for our society and for us personally. I think we all need to be more aware about our actions and our reasons for doing things and feeling things. This is just another great book to help with that journey of personal discovery.

Great job Judy and thank you

This is one of those audiobooks I would listen to while I go for walks it has been very educational I enjoyed all the little stories one importantly all the lessons that were learned thank you for sharing your story Judy and thank you for helping me understand my own bias is better.

Want to be a better human? Read this!

I've always thought that there were two types of people in the world: honest people and liars. But there are many shades of gray when it comes to being truthful. I appreciate that the author was transparent about her own honesty journey and what she learned about herself. "Would I Lie to You" covers the vast array of social interactions - family dynamics, romantic relationships, career, friendships, and being honest with yourself. The author explains why we sometimes lie and why we sometimes should. "Would I Lie to You" opened my eyes to the fact that I'm not quite as honest as I'd like to believe, and I have room to come up higher.

......and queue the political comments

publishers keep encouraging people to just write whatever these days.
I got this one free thank God. pretty harmless yet pointless until she goes political. comments that already have not aged well about Trump. I am not at all political but after reading her diatribe about Trump being dishonest, all proven wrong, it seems. But the current president's dishonesty is unprecedented.
credibility lost. stopped reading . still cringing.