Not every woman wants to tell her story. As comforting as it is to explain away maternal lies as reactions to trauma or protective acts of love, the reality is many mothers lie with/on purpose. In my pursuit of re-envisioning lying as a potentially ethical act at best and a necessary and practical one at worst, I would be remiss if I did not take an equally serious look at mothers who lie intentionally to their children, who lack zero desire to ever tell them the truth, and whose lies cause immense psychological and emotional suffering in their loved ones