During times of grief, therapists recommend jotting down feelings, memories, and observations in a notebook. Protagonist Neal Motherwell takes this practice to the extreme, sometimes writing twenty-thousand words in a single day. Neal thought he’d left an abusive childhood behind until his brother Mick dies, forcing him into a search for authenticity in a world of deceit.

A Parable of Lies is not a novel or memoir but something in between, an experiment in healing fiction, an illustration of writing as an act of redemption and renewal. Writing prompts are embedded in the narrative.

About the author:

LITERATURE & MEDICINE

There is strong scientific evidence that writing improves immune function and overall well-being. A vast time-honored literary tradition substantiates this claim. Many people fear writing and deny their deepest creative and receptive impulses. One’s best writing, like a waking dream, comes from letting go and allowing authentic and raw emotions to flow onto paper. 

LAWRENCE’S BACKGROUND

Lawrence escaped Buffalo after high school and graduated as an English major from the University of Miami. He worked as a garbage man, child care worker, construction laborer, ocean lifeguard, and firefighter/paramedic before completing physician assistant training at Duke University. After earning a Ph.D. in creative writing, emphasizing the medical humanities, Spann founded The Literature, Arts, and Medicine Program (LAMP) at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, CA, where he convened hundreds of writing groups. Later relocating to Santa Barbara, Lawrence resumed medical practice while his wife Elizabeth Ann Robinson completed her doctorate in mythology and depth psychology and published The Soul of the Nurse. Together, they lead first draft writing groups to excavate their own and participants’ personal stories.