Life Lessons with Izzy: Honesty

I was recently asked in several of my blog tour interviews what my pet peeves were.  My answer was always the same:  bullying and dishonesty.  I will leave the bullying bit for now.  What I want to focus on is dishonesty. 

I come from a family that holds you to your word.  What I say has weight and if I use my words to hide the truth or cover up for something I am ashamed of, well I am hurting myself more than anyone else.  Honesty is something I have been taught to value.  Yes, there are times when lying would be easier. 

Let me rewind for a second and clarify what I mean by dishonesty.  I am not talking about the white lies we tell everyday, the ones that spare people's feelings.  I am talking about the big ones.  Ones that hide things from people, that could eventually hurt one or more of the people involved.  I am talking about lies of omission.  I am talking about the lies we tell people and turn around and stab them in the back when they least expect it.  I am talking about lies that could well change a person's life.

Whether it be a rumor or something you withhold thinking that you are protecting yourself or someone else....ultimately the lie will out and it will hurt worse than the truth ever would have.  I have been fortunate in my life to only feel the brunt of either form a few times.  Nowadays I don't have to deal with fear of anything like this happening.  I absolutely trust the people closest to me and I know I am doing my best to teach my daughter what it means to be honest.  That her word carries weight.

Unfortunately, for our intrepid heroine, this is not the case.  People keep withholding information.  They are keeping her in the dark for fear of what may happen if she knows the truth.  In the end, the lies hurt her worse than the truth ever could have.  Dishonesty is an overall theme within See How She Fights.  It is something that shapes the story and informs the growth of Izzy.  Her actions could have been completely different had the truth been spoken from the start. 

“Funny.  Listen, I would have told you.  You have to believe that.  I wasn’t trying to keep you in the dark.  I just wanted you to have a few months of peace before everything got shifted again.  I wanted you to be free from this world for a while.  Maybe give you time to adjust.  Hell, maybe I was just being selfish.  Maybe I wanted to keep you to myself for a while.  Whatever the reasons they will never be enough to you.  I know that and I know that Isadora was right, I should have told you the minute she knew.”  He finished, falling to his knees in front of me.  His face was pleading.