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Cover Illustration: Debra Lill
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DEBUT NOVEL EARNS MULTIPLE HONORS
2025 AMERICAN LEGACY BOOK AWARDS LITERARY FICTION FINALIST
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When ten-year old Genevieve Donovan's Nannie dies mysteriously in the Lowcountry river she's loved and lived near all her life, Genny and her family are heartbroken. In 1960s South Carolina, new industry is encroaching on old country, and Genny fears her grandmother may have gotten in the way of so-called progress... read more
Meet the Author
Helen Stine grew up near Charleston, in the heart of South Carolina’s Lowcountry, where her debut novel is set... read more
Helen's Blog
“The Truthful Story is a wonder. Like the Lowcountry river that nurtures and sustains young Genevieve Donovan—and takes the life of her beloved Nannie—this debut novel runs deep and even dark. But the light shines in the darkness, and Helen Stine’s gentle humor, uncanny insight, and quiet wisdom shine through every page of this book, carried along on a stream of luminous prose. The 1960s South she recreates is one born of rapturous memory, painful reflection, and an artist’s imagination and love. Most significantly, Stine gives us the great gift of Genny Donovan, a character who set up residence in my heart the same way Jean Louise Finch did so many years ago. I have a feeling that, like Scout, she will live there forever.”