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. Even Daduh, Nannie’s dearest friend and longtime housekeeper, doesn’t know what to make of Nannie’s death. Was it an accident, or did the drunkard son of a local businessman play a role? What’s more, ever since Nannie passed, Genny has been hearing and seeing things she’s not sure she can share with anyone except her mother, whose own grief is making it harder and harder to get through to her. Seeking answers, longing for guidance, and unsure if Mama will ever be the same again, Genny gingerly forges a path out of childhood and into adolescence. As Genny struggles to understand justice, healing, and a world in which Nannie is gone but still present, The Truthful Story traces a family’s difficult journey through the pain of loss and the survival of love. "Beautiful and generous. The Truthful Story's richly rendered Southern Lowcountry provides the ideal setting for its protagonist, the sweet Genevieve--whose youth does not preclude the depth of her wisdom, love, or ability to forgive." (New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Eva Lesko Natiello, The Memory Box ) " 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." (Margaret Evans, Editor, Lowcountry Weekly ) "The narrator...Genny paints her Norman Rockwells beautifully and with an astonishing blend of childhood innocence and adult narrative sophistication. Indeed, the blend is so masterful that the reader rarely is aware that this child is telling her story in language which is most untypical of her age group.... Readers who lived in these years will relish the author's vivid recollection and delightful recounting of the times.... The relationships among Genny, her family members, and her school friends are told with great literary skill. Imaginative imagery and evocative metaphors and similes inhabit almost every page." (Award-winning playwright and author Gordon Osmond, Bookpleasures.com ) The Truthful Story awards include: 2025 American Legacy Book Awards Finalist Literary Fiction - Best New Fiction International Book Awards - Gold Medal Best Regional Fiction Independent Publisher Book (IPPY) Awards - Winner Bookvana Awards for Literary Fiction - Winner Regional Fiction National Indie Excellence Award (NIEA) - Best Book Awards Finalist for Best Cover Design: Fiction - Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist Literary Fiction - Grand Prize Winner (3rd) Mill City Press Author Awards - Grand Prize Great Southeast Book Festival - Finalist Best New Fiction- National Indie Excellence Award (NIEA) - Southern Book Prize Nominee "If you've ever visited Charleston or just appreciate a good Southern novel, you should add The Truthful Story to your reading list. Stine creates a vivid setting, quickly drawing you into the Lowcountry and onto Gibson Island. Using strong women rooted in the land and in generations past, she demonstrates the powerful relationship between mothers and their children. As a mother, your heart will break for Genny, and as a daughter, you'll understand Genny's longing for her lost grandmother and her desperate need to connect with her mother. The slowly-building suspense will keep you reading to the end. The Truthful Story is a novel about the deep roots that help relationships survive pain and loss ." ( DailyMom.com ) To learn more about  The Truthful Story  and to read my blog, please visit my website at helenstine.com. "My grandmother taught me when someone tells you a truthful story, it's not like any other story. You'll recognize it because it has a special message inside of it, and if you listen close, you'll find out what it really means. If you use its special powers, the words will jump out from the story and land inside of you and live there forever." Genevieve, The Truthful Story Helen Stine grew up near Charleston, in the heart of South Carolina's Lowcountry. After receiving an English degree from the College of Charleston, she raised a family, traveled extensively, and pursed a career in early childhood education, but sh