Living, Breathing Lies [Paperback]

Gloria Mallette (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2007

Breathe a lie, live a lie. That's what Nadirah Lewis learns when she uncovers the stunning lie she was forced to live for seventeen years. Nadirah was twelve years old when she was blamed for crippling her Aunt Stephanie. Guilt and her trust fund kept Nadirah a prisoner in Stephanie's home and the object of Stephanie's cruel tongue, but it took another vicious lie and a threat to Nadirah's career as a teacher to infuse her with the energy to fight back.

Nadirah's fight, however, is not just for herself. It is also for one of her young students, Bree Morrison. When Bree is hospitalized after drinking a near fatal dose of poison, Nadirah petitions the Administration for Child Services for guardianship. Bree's mother has inexplicably disappeared, and what Bree won't say is what Nadirah needs to hear before Bree's aunt Erma, a she-devil on wheels, wins the custody battle.

Erma, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Austin Gray, Nadirah's handsome new landlord, and close friend of Lynn, Nadirah's cousin, lets Nadirah know in no uncertain terms that she will never get Bree or her husband. But what unforgivable lie does Erma live that could stop her cold yet devastate all around her?

And Lynn, as well put together and as orderly as her life is, what shameful lie lurks behind her picturesque suburban doors?

While the revelation of many of the lies give Nadirah the courage to find herself, she must accept the fact that those same lies may well destroy the lives of those closest to her. Unveil the shocking, real life truths of Living, Breathing Lies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

National USA Book News Best Books 2007 Award Winner
National Indie Excellence Awards 2008 Winner --USABookNews.com / Indieexcellence.com

"LIVING, BREATHING LIES is a powerful character study that focuses in on dysfunctional interrelationships built on fabrications. As the web of lies....begins to unravel one thread at a time, readers will demand more angst family dramas like this tense tale." --Harriet Klausner

A Message from the Author: Dear reader, please accept my heartfelt apologies for the typos and grammatical errors you are finding in Living, Breathing Lies. Although I hired a copyeditor, I was negligent in doing a final read, which is what I've done with all of my previous books. I promise, this won't happen again. All the best ---- --Gloria Mallette

About the Author

"Powerful and riveting. Gloria Mallette has mastered the art of taking readers on the ride of their lives, leaving them drenched and begging for more." Tracy Price-Thompson, 2005 Hurston/Wright Award Winner for Contemporary Fiction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Gemini Press; 1st edition (June 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967878926
• ISBN-13: 978-0967878928
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #780,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nationally acclaimed award winning author GLORIA MALLETTE began her true literary journey by self-publishing her second novel Shades of Jade in April of 2000. By July Gloria had sold over 10,000 copieswhen Random House signed her to a two-book deal and re-released Shades of Jade in 2001. Shades of Jade made several best sellers lists, including Black Board, Essence Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, and The Washington Post/Washington is Also Reading listing.

Gloria has been featured in The New York Daily News, USAToday, ToDay's Black Woman, Upscale Magazine, and The Pocono Record. Gloria also has a featured novella, Come Tomorrow, on the USAToday website.

To her credit, Gloria now has ten published titles which include SASSY; Weeping Willows Dance; and Living, Breathing Lies.

Gloria is the Winner of the 2010 and 2008 Indie Excellence Award; and the Winner of the 2007 National Best Books Awards and Finalist of the 2009 National Best Books Award.

Called a triple threat, Gloria is an artist who paints in acrylics and a jewelry maker of beautiful semi-precious stone bracelets and earrings which can be seen on her website: www.GloriaMallette.com.

Look for Gloria's next book in 2012.
Visit Gloria on www.GloriaMallette.com; and on FaceBook and Twitter

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From Our Tongues A Lie Contrived, June 15, 2007

By 

Phyllis Rhodes (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living, Breathing Lies (Paperback)

Gloria Mallette's latest offering, Living, Breathing Lies, is a family drama that illustrates the ill-fated after effects of abject lying and guarded deception. The Richards Family is headed by the bitter, selfish matriarch, Stephanie. She has been married to New York City firefighter, Lester, for years. They have an adopted niece, elementary school teacher, Nadirah Lewis, and older twin children, Les, a music producer, prodigal son of sorts and Lynn, an equally absentee daughter who lives in Bostonwith her husband and two children. While Stephanie is a heartless mother and evil aunt, Lester is the nicest, most devoted loving husband/father/ uncle/friend; and for years is the victim of Stephanie's biting tongue and no one understands why he tolerates her.

A household "accident" cripples Stephanie and she pounces on the opportunity to manipulate Nadirah into guilt-ridden servitude which lasts over seventeen years. When the proverbial "straw" eventually breaks Nadirah's back, she threatens to move away which sends Stephanie into a panic -- the fear of living alone is unimaginable. When a mysterious call to the school's principal implicates Nadirah in a sordid affair with one of the community center teenaged boys, her job is jeopardized and she immediately suspects Stephanie as the culprit. She enlists the help of Cousin Lynn to help deal with Stephanie. Unlike her mother, Lynn is compassionate and giving, going over and beyond by using her connections to allow Nadirah to board rent-free in a luxurious town home of a handsome and almost-divorced Austin Gray and even volunteering to stick around for a few days to find the truth behind the false accusation. Needless to say that once the string is pulled, the ball of lies begins to unravel and many, many more secrets are revealed including a few surrounding Austin's marriage, Aunt Stephanie's angst, Uncle Lester's devotion, and even Lynn's fear.

Living, Breathing Lies has sparks of romance (one coupling is truly surprising), elements of mystery/suspense that lead to a few surprises, and enough drama to rival any daytime soap opera. While I was a bit disappointed with her last offering, If There Be Pain, I truly enjoyed this novel as a light, entertaining summer read. I think the author's longtime fans will be pleased.

Reviewed by Phyllis

APOOO BookClub

Nubian Circle Book Club

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Multitude of Lies!, April 12, 2007

By 

Cheryl Robinson "Just About Books Radio Talk ... (www.JustAboutBooksTalkShow.com Mon 9PM -EST) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living, Breathing Lies (Paperback)

In Living, Breathing Lies, Nadirah Lewis is devastated when she discovers that she has been forced to live a lie--for seventeen years. As a child, she was blamed for crippling her unloving guardian, Aunt Stephanie, in a fall and...guilt has kept her the devoted family "slave" for many years. Everyone around Aunt Stephanie is plagued by these enormous lies, which begin to ricochet from family members to friends and back to family members. Nadirah is a teacher and becomes a foster parent for one of her students, Bree Morrison. Just as things turn for the better, Erma, Bree's Aunt, brings an even more vicious set of lies from the past that begin emerging and affecting everyone around her. Amazingly every character in this book is caught up in a web of lies and they are all living, breathing lies! Mallette has made the reader do some serious soul searching and ask themselves...Why is it so hard to tell the truth, but so easy to tell a lie?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read!, August 11, 2007

By 

Sylvia Jill - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living, Breathing Lies (Paperback)

It took me a while to get this book, but it was so worth searching for. Once again Gloria Mallette wrote a story that made me think about my life. The lies told in Living, Breathing Lies are no different from the lies told in every day life. But the consequences of the lies told in her book are so deserving and filled with emotion. Reading this book was like watching a real life crime show where everyone is exposed. Kudos to you Miss Mallette for once again keeping me up at night to read. I didn't even mind the typos. I've seem lots of those before.