The conceit of The Truth About Her will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix (or, indeed, followed the real-life exposure of “wellness” grifter Belle Gibson, on which that series is based).
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In Jacqueline Maley’s novel, a 39-year-old journalist and single mother reckons with the professional and psychological fallout after the subject of her exposé – a 28-year-old wellness influencer who faked having, then curing, her own cancer – takes her own life. Tracey Doran, like the real-life Gibson, claimed that her “clean eating” lifestyle was the silver bullet, and raked in the cash from a cookbook as a result. The journalist, Suzy, saw clear public interest in the story, but she has to grapple with feelings of confusion and guilt when the consequences become clear.
These feelings are magnified by the emergence of Tracey’s mother from the woodwork. Jan starts seeking Suzy out, coming to her home and workplace, demanding that Suzy write a new story, the “truth” about Tracey.
I wanted to read The Truth About Her for two main reasons. Firstly, I’m as intrigued by the Belle Gibson saga as anyone, and never tire of hearing about the length and depth of the deception and how it all came crashing down. If you’re coming to The Truth About Her for only that reason, though, you’re going to be disappointed. Tracey is a very peripheral character to the story, with her brassy mother playing a much bigger role.
The second reason I was particularly keen to pick up The Truth About Her was its setting. Not only does the story take place in Sydney, but in Glebe – my very own suburb. This was a big draw card for me, and at first it really tickled me, reading about the character walking along a street I had walked along myself just that afternoon.
Before long, however, it became distracting in the sense that the creative liberties Maley had to take with the descriptions of place in service of the story stuck out like sore thumbs (and fingers, and toes). That’s not a criticism of Maley’s writing, or The Truth About Her, and I completely understand that it’s a niche issue to take with this book (as it will affect basically only readers who live in the roughly 1.7 square kilometers around my house) – but I simultaneously can’t deny that it impacted my otherwise thorough enjoyment of this story. For readers who don’t have any close familiarity with my neighbourhood, it will feel highly realistic (as Maley is herself a single mother and a journalist living and working in Sydney’s inner West, clearly writing what she knows).
So, if you’re cool with the content warnings (suicide, obviously, and various abuses) and you don’t live next door to me, The Truth About Her will be a great read.
Read The Truth About Her on audiobook via Libro.fm here.
My favourite Amazon reviews of The Truth About Her:
- “I found the pace slow and felt like nothing much really happened. It was simply a story about life.” – kitkat07210
- “Author is a journalist and reads like a long wish fulfilment of a Sunday colour supplement. Would have been so much better in the hands of a proper writer.” – Kindle Customer
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