When your life is full of twists and drama, you do not need to write fiction. Julie Coons’ life fits perfectly in this category. As if her previous memoir wasn’t heartbreaking enough, this one left that part of her life appearing like a walk in the park. Working in a hospital, Julie had seen enough trauma, blood, and miseries in life; however, she did not know that the same hospital would introduce her to the most despicable man. Under a lot of peer pressure and after a lot of persuasion by her co-workers, she agreed to give James a try. James seemed like a guy whom everybody loved, and he showed a lot of interest in getting to know Julie’s four-year-old daughter. In short, he was too good to be true, but there he was — checking all the boxes.

We all hear about the dreadful stuff that happens to people in news, but we always assume that it would not happen to us. Well, most of us do, until it — god forbid — happens to us. The author had heard about horrible things like human trafficking and pedophiles, but she never thought, even in her wildest thoughts, that she would witness all of it so close. Her experience with such horrid reality left goosebumps all over me. Even after all this, Julie Coons is one of the most positive people that I’ve come across. Her positivity reflects through her writing.

There are so many pearls of wisdom that the author has shared in Why She Lied. The best part of these lessons is that she has learned all of these the hard way. For instance, she advises to always follow your gut. This advice comes from the fact that whenever she ignored her gut, she faced terrible consequences. Another one of my favorite lessons is to beware of the charmers. I am keeping that lesson with me for life.

Julie Coons’ writing is truly the most heartfelt. She writes through her pain and tears, which is quite evident with the words that she uses. There are emotions everywhere, and a reader can’t help but be immersed in her life. With every betrayal and heartbreak, I, as a reader, could feel her agony. Her storytelling ability is extremely intriguing and captivating.

I recommend this book to every reader who hopes to learn something from a memoir filled with pain, heartbreak, hope, love, and frustration.