Lisa’s books…

“A masterfully written ‘love is love’ story told during a time when freedom came with rules. Everything We Thought Was True is a love story but also a story of fear and disbelief. Everyone pays a price in this family that loses almost everything before they find not only themselves, but each other. A story of secrets, lies, triumph, and joy by a debut author who bears watching.”

“Lisa Montanaro brings together the emotional elements of truth, family, and tradition in a story that uses love as the baseline. Everything We Thought Was True is an ode to the often-painful journey people take to be who they truly are.”

“Introspective and emotional, bringing you deep into the characters’ feelings, Lisa Montanaro gifts us an important and engrossing novel for all, no matter your sexual orientation. Brava, Ms. Montanaro.” 

“Mining her own family history as inspiration, Lisa Montanaro has crafted a heart-warming and emotionally complex debut novel that masterfully explores themes of guilt, anger, forgiveness and ultimately redemption, as an Italian American family struggles with a secret that threatens to tear them apart. Written with compassion and grace, this is a story that will resonate with anyone who has struggled to come to terms with the complexities of the people they love the most.”

“Lisa Montanaro’s powerful first novel sweeps effortlessly across decades, pulling the reader along with exquisite precision. As we bear witness to the family’s hidden secrets, peeled back a layer at a time, we are reminded of how hard truths from decades earlier continue to haunt us, no matter how much we’d like to think we’ve moved on. Everything We Thought Was True, evocative and unblinking, is both a coming-of-age classic and masterfully timely and topical.”

“Lisa Montanaro’s carefully drawn characters are our neighbors—they are us—and they demonstrate a path to face and overcome the types of challenges that threaten to tear us apart. Refreshingly empathetic and self-reflective, Everything We Thought Was True is a novel of family and forgiveness perfect for our time.”

“Touching and human, Lisa Montanaro more than gently tugs at your heartstrings in her debut novel. Secrets, lies, and being on the other side of the closet are represented beautifully. The child of a gay parent processes the ambiguous loss and love unique to a queerspawn. This book both entertains and raises awareness about the effects of family secrets on a family system.”

“What a wonderful book. I loved this story about a family struggling to face their truths at a time when the world did not embrace the LGBTQ community. Montanaro does a brilliant job showcasing the struggles and triumphs of each family member through multiple timelines, from the 1970s through 2015. I adored this family, and I was rooting for each of them. Don’t miss this book. It’s an eye-opening, heartbreaking, heartwarming, uplifting story!” 

“Everything We Thought Was True is an excellent, eye-opening novel I highly recommend. What I really enjoyed about Ms. Montanaro’s novel was reading about the emotional impact on a young family when they discover the truth about one of its members and seeing the growth of acceptance and respect for each other through several decades. The author has created this story with obvious compassion and dignity for others and is to be applauded. She sets an outstanding example of how to live with empathy and kindness in a world once again on the brink of change and threats to humanity.”

“Family secrets are painful—especially to those who keep them. Everything We Thought was True is an emotional story of a family struggling under the weight of long-kept secrets and divided loyalties. Told in dual timelines from the perspective of Lena and her parents, the novel explores the family’s journey from shame to forgiveness and love. It’s a beautiful read about the things that truly matter, and what holds a family together.”

“Told in multiple points of view and two different timelines, Montanaro tells a story of the Antinori family as they work through the challenges – and joys -of embracing who you are in a society not yet open to it. I loved how well Montanaro brought out the emotional complexities of hidden affairs, hidden identities, and creating characters who can frustrate you, yet make you love them at the same time because of their authenticity. The characters stayed with me past the last page of their story.”

“Lisa Montanaro nails her debut novel Everything We Thought was True, using a three-person point of view/dual timeline story of self-realization and forgiveness. Italian food flies through a homecooked meal, marking the moment the Antinori family is forever changed. Suspicions are proven and passions come to a head, leaving the family’s fabric torn apart. Montanaro transports the reader to the 1970’s and 80’s, a time when members of the LGBTQ+ community risked peril daily from a new disease and widespread discrimination and flashes to 2015 when the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. The prose is crisp and vibrant as 13-year-old Lena, heartbroken to learn her father is gay, struggles to accept the new shape of her family, one that she protects from outside judgment. Even as an adult working in 2015 as a civil rights attorney, Lena safeguards the old family secret from friends and colleagues until she can make peace with her actions. Inspired by a true family story, Montanaro takes the reader through an emotional wave of anger, betrayal, denial, identity, and acceptance.”

“Everything We Thought Was True is a complex, dual timeline tale of love, lies, and the discovery of truths in what initially appears to be a typical nuclear family. As the story unravels, heartbreaking secrets are unveiled, and we see the painstaking toll it takes on each individual family member. Everything We Thought Was True will leave you wiping tears away as it shows the sad reality of the mistreatment and misunderstanding of the LGBTQ community and the families that love them. The heartfelt ending serves as a reminder that ‘love is love’ and that the truth shall set you free.”

“Lisa Montanaro’s poignant and engaging novel seamlessly weaves together the stories of Lena, her mother Teresa, and her father Frank in a beautiful tale about secrecy, heartbreak, and redemption. Beginning with the explosive breakup of Teresa and Frank’s marriage in 1983, Montanaro’s brilliant debut explores the lies we keep from ourselves and each other and how we try, fail, and sometimes still succeed in finding our way back to each other. Written as four acts, Montanaro tells the story through the three protagonists and moves back and forth between the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 2010s. In the background is the growing social acceptance of LGBTQ rights, and we see, through her characters’ experiences, what this means for people of all genders and sexual orientations and the people who love them.

‘We were a family of liars and hypocrites. When would it end?’ one character asks. Every family has its deceits and unkindnesses. Montanaro’s lovely novel suggests that the kinks and knots in these relationships can be untangled if we have enough time, patience, and honesty with each other and ourselves. And love, of course. Always, love.”

“A beautifully orchestrated tale of a family finding their way forward while carrying the heavy secret that its patriarch, Frank, is gay. As the Antinori family navigates the anti-gay sentiment of the 70’s and 80’s, this secret comes to define them. As years pass, the complicated burden of concealing their family’s truth grows too heavy to bear, and they must learn to redefine their love for, and acceptance of, one another – along with themselves. A well-written, compelling read! ”

“Life is complicated – especially when you love your family so much! Attorney Lena Antinori is torn. How can she support both parents when their secrets and deceptions have ripped their family apart? She lives a balancing act between honoring her mother, with a nod to their faith and Italian American culture, and accepting who her father is, despite societal restrictions. Lena realizes that fighting for her clients’ rights has spilled over into her personal life, but can she release her family’s secrets to the world? Wasn’t it sacrosanct to never tell what was really going on? This is a story of love and support of family across the generations. Everything We Thought Was True has a clever dual timeline – Lena shares the modern-day times, thoughts, and concerns, while her parents tell their sides of the story. Lena walks the tightrope between keeping secrets and the blessed freedom of letting them go. It is love that leads the way and brings understanding and acceptance at the end. The title of this novel is perfect! What a wonderful book – heartwarming, honest, maddening, and loving – just like most families. In a time and culture that could have squashed their spirits, this book triumphs! You’ll be smiling at the end as you feel the love that binds this remarkable family.”