Fact, lies, and all that’s in between

Spewing the reality on a regular basis has its personal price.

Two men talking
George Marks / Retrofile / Getty

That is an version of The Marvel Reader, a e-newsletter during which our editors advocate a set of tales to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Join right here to get it each Saturday morning.

White lies can pop up fairly commonly in our on a regular basis social lives. I personally am a recovering white liar: In my teenagers and early 20s, I discovered it a lot simpler to fib that I wasn’t feeling effectively or that I had a household obligation moderately than inform an acquaintance I used to be simply too busy to see them. These lies have been benign sufficient, however in the long run, the stress they induced simply wasn’t value it. As my colleague Julie Beck wrote in 2017, “The secrets and techniques we maintain pop up like Whac-a-Moles in our ideas—chattering little rodents that received’t keep down while you hammer them.” And even the smallest white lies can take their flip within the psychological recreation of Whac-a-mole.

However spewing the reality on a regular basis comes with its personal price—and might damage different folks. “Shutting up for some time has actually softened me,” Michael Leviton wrote in 2021. “Today, I attempt to save my honesty for individuals who need it.” In the present day’s e-newsletter explores reality, lies, and all that’s in between.


On Fact and Lies

The Proper Method to Say the Unsayable

By Arthur C. Brooks

The right way to converse reality with out worry—however keep away from alienating everybody you already know

Learn the article.

What I Discovered About Love After I Stopped Being Sincere

By Michael Leviton

After rising up in a household that by no means lied, I spent many years being off-puttingly truthful.

Learn the article.

The Worst A part of Conserving a Secret

By Julie Beck

It’s not that demanding to cover one thing from folks, nevertheless it is demanding to consider it on a regular basis.

Learn the article.


Nonetheless Curious?


Different Diversions


P.S.

Image of a sunrise
Courtesy of Maylian Pak

I just lately requested readers to share a photograph of one thing that sparks their sense of awe on the earth. “My associates and I run practically each day—it has been and continues to be my most necessary each day routine,” Maylian Pak from Eugene, Oregon, writes. “Lately we added a Friday-morning dawn hike, and I captured this picture as we neared the summit of the path. All of us paused to soak up the great thing about the daylight filtering by means of the bushes.”

I’ll proceed to function your responses within the coming weeks. In the event you’d wish to share, reply to this electronic mail with a photograph and a brief description so we will share your marvel with fellow readers in a future version of this text or on our web site. Please embrace your title (initials are okay), age, and placement. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your picture and publicly attribute the response to you, together with your first title and final preliminary, age, and/or location that you just share together with your submission.

— Isabel

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