What if the truth you find isn’t the one you wanted? The Truth About You by Michael Clark Book Tour with Guest Post and Author Q&A

Sometimes the stories that stay with us are the ones that ask the hardest questions. Michael Clark’s The Truth About You is a bold, emotionally charged novel that does exactly that.

Lucy and Meg think the nightmare is over when their stepfather Greg is arrested for assaulting their mother. But when she chooses to stay with him, the sisters’ world unravels. Determined to protect her, they set up hidden cameras, hoping the footage will provide clarity. Instead, what they discover shakes Lucy’s deepest beliefs about abuse, love, and truth. The Truth About You is more than a family drama—it’s a literary exploration of how entrenched societal narratives can obscure reality. With echoes of Little Fires Everywhere and We Need to Talk About Kevin, Clark’s novel asks readers to look beyond black-and-white portrayals and sit with the complexity of real human relationships.

Michael Clark writes from a rare vantage point: as both a former domestic violence offender and as the leader of a nonprofit dedicated to ending abuse. Through the Ananias Foundation, he has helped thousands confront destructive behaviors and find a path toward change. His own transformation, detailed in his memoir From Villain to Hero, informs every page he writes—bringing honesty, insight, and deep empathy for the messiness of human relationships. In The Truth About You, Clark channels that hard-won understanding into fiction, crafting a story that is as morally provocative as it is emotionally gripping. Learn more at michaelclarkauthor.com.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3UL9Vv9

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240063457-the-truth-about-you

Excerpt:

 Setting: After Greg is arrested for battering his wife, Paula, Paula remains in a relationship with him. Time has passed, and Paula’s friends determine they need to stage an intervention to “hold him accountable.”

Shortly after 7 p.m., Greg and Paula pulled into the driveway in Greg’s SUV. They stayed in the car for several minutes. Stacy peered through the family room curtains to check what was happening. “They’re still sitting in the car,” she reported.

“Is he hitting her?” someone asked.

“No. At least not as far as I can tell,” she said.

“Are they arguing?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Should someone go out there?”

“I’m not sure about that, either.”

Finally, the doors to the SUV opened and Greg and Paula got out. Greg went to the back and started filling his arms with bags from their shopping trip. Paula headed for the kitchen’s side door.

“Are you okay?” Christine asked Paula as she came through the door.

“I’m fine,” Paula said.

“Is Greg coming in?” Julie asked.

“Yes,” Paula answered. “He should be in soon. He’s bringing in the groceries.” 

“He knows we’re here?”

“He knows there are several people here, yes.”

“How did you convince him to come in?”

“I told him that if he wants any chance of us staying married, he will come in and listen,” Paula said.

About then, Greg walked into the kitchen, clutching four bags of groceries in each hand. He glanced at the crowd gathering at the other end of the room but said nothing. 

“I need to get some of this stuff into the refrigerator and freezer,” he said as he placed the bags on the counter and began unpacking their contents.

An awkward silence fell as he avoided their stares. Others in the group, including Lucy, remained in the family room.

Greg, having stowed away the groceries, glanced at the bystanders. “I’m guessing you’re not here for a party.” 

“No, Greg, we’re not,” Denise’s husband, Mark, said. “Why don’t you come into the other room and have a seat? We have something we’d like to talk to you about.”

“I can only imagine what that might be,” Greg grumbled quietly, yet audible to those nearby.

Greg stared at everyone in the family room. He didn’t linger when he spotted Lucy, and she appreciated being bypassed. 

An armchair, pulled away from the wall, now sat empty in the center of the room. “Why don’t you sit here,” Mark said, motioning to the chair.

Logan Whitton walked in front of Greg, then sat on the padded arm of the sofa next to his wife. “Listen, Greg, I want you to know that this is as uncomfortable for us as it is for you,” he said.

“I doubt it,” Greg shot back. 

Logan ignored his comment. “We’re here because we care about Paula. We care about you, too,” he added as an afterthought, although Greg’s eye roll indicated he found the statement insincere. 

“We want you to know that we are aware of what you are doing—”

Greg cut him off. “What am I doing?”

“You’re hurting Paula,” Logan said. “Your constant put-downs, anger, and coercive control are wearing her down and destroying her.”

“Except that I’m not doing that,” Greg defended.

Stacy jumped in. “But you are, and it is hurting your wife. Don’t you care about her?”

“Of course I care about her,” Greg said. “I love her.”

“Well, then, you need to act like it,” Stacy fired back.

At this point, Mark Litchfield stepped in. “I think the message to you, Greg, is that your behavior is not just something you’re doing in the privacy of your home. Other people—your friends—are aware of what’s going on. It’s not a secret anymore.”

“You are all talking about my behavior, except you don’t have a clue what happens between us because you’re not here to see or hear our interactions,” Greg said.

“We do have a clue,” Brenda said. “We understand how these relationships work. You think you’re different and special, but you’re not.”

Greg turned toward Paula. “Do you want to tell your friends that they’re off base?”

Paula glanced at Greg and opened her mouth to respond, but Brenda cut her off. “Stop pressuring your wife to cover for you. That’s abusive and part of the problem.”

Logan got back on the script. “We want you to know that we are aware of what you are doing. You have to stop. We will check with Paula regularly to see how she’s doing and how you are acting.”

“Well, you either didn’t check with her yet, or she’s not telling you the truth,” Greg said, showing his agitation.

“You need to shut up and listen,” Stacy said.

“Listen to you tell me stuff about myself that isn’t true?” Greg asked.

“Shut up! Just shut up!” At this point, Stacy was screaming at Greg.

“Okay, I think we all need to settle down here a bit,” Mark interjected.

“If we hear you are continuing to abuse Paula, we are going to make your life hell,” Logan said.

“Look, I’ve been arrested, kicked out of my home, and lost my job,” Greg said. “What else are you going to do to make it more of a hell than it already is?”

“Shut up!” Stacy screamed. “Can someone tape his mouth shut?”

“You did that to yourself, Greg. You need to take responsibility for the consequences of YOUR actions,” Brenda said, raising her voice and glaring at Greg.

“Apparently, you have not hit rock bottom yet,” Logan said. “If you think your life sucks now, wait until your reputation is destroyed, your wife divorces you, and you are rotting in jail.”

Greg bit his lip for a long moment, then spoke. “Look, I have been working my ass off to understand and change my behavior. And I think I’ve made significant progress. But you people don’t see that, or you refuse to give me credit for it.”

The group sat silently, staring at Greg.

“I’m also working hard to restore the trust that I damaged in my marriage. Having all of you run me down and throw me under the bus when you are talking about me to Paula does not help. Your interference is not making reconciliation any easier, and it’s not welcome.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Logan said. “Who do you think you are to treat a woman like you have? You have no right. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are a disgrace to men everywhere.”

“You didn’t hear a single thing I said, did you?” Greg asked Logan. Logan turned his head and didn’t respond.

Greg then turned to Paula again. “Are you going to speak up here? Shed a little light and truth into my changes and the state of our marriage?”

Paula glanced at Greg, then studied the others before looking down at the floor and remaining silent.

“Okay, that tells me what I needed to know,” Greg said. At that point, he eyeballed the group and added, “Are we through here?”

There were a few murmurs of, “I guess,” so Greg rose, exited the house to his vehicle, and left.

Paula got up, ran to the window, and watched his car pull away. She pressed her hand to the glass but said nothing. After Greg was out of sight, she used her sleeve to wipe away a tear before turning back toward the group.

Guest Post:

That’s Not My Story

Guest post by Michael Clark, author of The Truth About You

“In a momentary lapse of self-control, I screwed up my life.”

That’s how Jeff describes the morning everything fell apart. His wife tore the shirt he was wearing during an argument; he pushed her onto the sofa. She called the police. The arrest ended his career, his reputation, and his marriage.

Chet’s story is different but no less heartbreaking. Three years into counseling and self-work, he wonders if his family will ever acknowledge the man he’s become—or if he’ll be permanently defined by his past.

Then there’s Teresa, desperate to change her own destructive patterns before she loses the people she loves most. Yet the system she turns to insists she must be the victim, not the one seeking help.

These aren’t characters from a novel. They’re real people I’ve met in my work with those labeled “domestic violence offenders.” And their stories don’t fit the stereotypes. They admit to harm. They’re ashamed. But the explanations they’ve been handed—along with society’s bleak verdict on their capacity to change—are deeply flawed.

It was listening to their stories and many, many others like these that compelled me to write The Truth About You. On the surface, it’s a novel about marriage, betrayal, and violence. At its core, it’s a book about the myths we cling to, and the human complexity those myths erase.

Literary fiction often asks us to sit with discomfort, to wrestle with gray areas instead of black-and-white answers. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. The novel gives voice to characters who are both flawed and striving, broken yet yearning for redemption. Their stories challenge easy labels of “monster” or “victim” and instead show how deeply messy—and deeply human—relationships can be.

I wrote this book because I believe we can only address issues like intimate partner violence if we’re willing to see people in their full complexity. The Truth About You is one attempt to tell that fuller story.

Author Q&A

Writing Process & Creativity

How did you research your book?

Unfortunately, I have lived through many of the situations like those described in The Truth About You – both on the side of the abuser and the abused. More fortunately, I hear hundreds and hundreds of stories from our clients at the Ananias Foundation, and the circumstances described are an amalgamation of their stories, too. As part of my work, I invest significant time keeping up with the research, thought leaders, laws, and best practices surrounding the subject of domestic violence and abuse.

What’s the hardest scene or character you wrote—and why?

Meg was the most difficult character to write about, as she represented everything The Truth About You was written to challenge. She bought into the dominant narrative about domestic violence and held on to that view, despite the ever-growing pile of evidence in front of her which refuted her assessment. Still, I wanted to give Meg depth as a human being, and none are all bad or all good. Balancing her slavish loyalty to the unhelpful narrative with positives was challenging—like trying to say something nice about your enemy.

Where do you get your ideas?

The situations and dialogue were easy - see my answer to the question about my research process above. Settings were modeled after locations found in the Des Moines, IA area where I live. The hidden camera idea stemmed from arguments I had with my now ex-wife. I knew that if there was a hidden camera somewhere in the house, what people would see in those videos would have been far different (and balanced) than what she claimed happened. I never installed cameras, but I seriously considered it.

What sets your book apart from others in your genre?

There are so many novels that contain scenes where domestic violence or abuse happens. Nearly all of them follow the standard script—the stereotypical story of the abusive and controlling man and the innocent woman victim. Yet that story is the minority of domestic violence cases. Women abuse men at similar rates, around half of abusive relationships are mutually abusive, abuse, when it happens, doesn’t always continue, and abusers do change. This more accurate story is the one told in The Truth About You. 

What helps you overcome writer’s block?

I honestly never faced writer’s block. This story rattled around in my head for years, so I had what seemed like an endless supply of ideas to include. I’m also a writer who outlines extensively, so I began with a very high-level outline, then created more detailed outlines of where I wanted the story to go. Writing was more of a process of fleshing out the outlines.

What’s your favorite compliment you’ve received as a writer?

When I hear from readers that I described situations and characters they strongly related to, and as a result, gave them a voice they never felt they had.

Your Writing Life

Do you write every day? What’s your schedule?

I have a full-time job as the Executive Director of the Ananias Foundation, so I cannot write every day like someone who is a full-time writer. That said, I do a fair amount of writing in my position, albeit some of that writing is as mundane as responding to emails. 

Any quirky writing rituals or must-have snacks?

I have a secret: I never took a typing or keyboarding class in school, never formally learned to type, and my typing is slow and filled with typos. So how did I plunk out a 86,000 word manuscript? I narrated much of the story off the top of my head using voice recognition, then went back and made the necessary corrections. I found this process produced the text faster and contained fewer errors than what my clumsy fingers created.

Behind the Book

Why did you choose this setting?

They say write what you know, so choosing Des Moines, Iowa as my setting (renamed Veritas Falls) was easy. Plus, because domestic violence affects regular people, I wanted ordinary characters, living in an ordinary place, and middle-America is as ordinary as you can get.

Which author(s) most inspired you?

Jodi Picoult

Fun & Lighthearted Qs

What’s your go-to comfort food?

Anything chocolate

What are you binge-watching right now?

I watch very little television, but the last series I watched from start to finish was Breaking Bad.

If you could time-travel, where would you go?

I would go to Scotland in the years 1750-1860’s when my ancestors were “encouraged” to emigrate as part of the Highland Clearances, then travel to the new world with them.

What 3 books would you bring to a desert island?

The Bible and two very long books I haven’t read yet.

What’s something that made you laugh recently?

Our dog and cat are a constant source of entertainment. I would also add my four year-old granddaughter, who wanted grandpa to roughhouse with her, then squealed with delight when I engaged.

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