Jennifer Kwong

Ms. Sarah Madsen Hardy

October 31, 2013
I exaggerate.
If someone were to greet you and those were the first words that came out of their mouth,
you would most likely take everything following that encounter with hesitation and uncertainty.
Lauren Slaters memoir, Lying, tells a story of her childhood and early adult life through the eyes
of an epileptic. She tells the story through a mixture of fiction and non-fiction and it is through
this that many argue whether or not her memoir is ethical. Is she putting the epileptic population
in a condescending light?
Although the use of a specific illness such as epilepsy may be unethical, Slater is careful
and determined to let her readers know that she is not to be trusted entirely. She writes repeatedly
that she may be, a pretender, a person who creates illnesses because she needs time, attention,
touch (89).By confessing to her readers that she may be making up events, she lets the
readers know that they should not judge epileptics purely on the information they obtain from the
memoir. Also, while Slater does seem to put epileptics in a condescending light, she does
extensive research on what actually happens to epileptics and in some sense, they are sometimes
represented correctly. While those with epilepsy may see Slater as poking fun at their illness, I
believe Slater wrote this memoir to help those who suffer mentally and physically from other
illnesses. She wants to illustrate that while those who are ill may believe they are alone, there are
others out there and even if others dont share the exact same illness, the feelings and struggle to
stay afloat are the same. When Slater is forced to say her drunk-a-logue in an Alcoholics

Anonymous meeting, Slater speaks truthfully but through the use of metaphors. She describes
her own emotions caused by her own illness, but as if she was an alcoholic. Yet people
understand her and are inspired by her, [clapping] like crazy and [crying], even the men (208).
With this, Slater demonstrates the way people can connect through experience, not just by labels
of illness.
The goal of Slaters memoir is not to tell people about epilepsy rather, to have people
learn that anyone with illness has other people to lean on and not just those with the same
illnesses. If a reader interprets Slaters memoir as a novel about epilepsy, they are making a
mistake. Slater intentionally states that lying is a part of her nature. When meeting with one of
her doctor, the doctor says Okayyou liedI dont want you to feel guilty because trickery
is so hinged to your personality style (Slater 202). The book doesnt contain an accurate
description of epilepsy, because that wasnt the goal of the book and therefore, doesnt disserve
epileptics. Slater hopes to convey the idea that those suffering shouldnt be forced to deal with
the labels given to them by others but should determine for themselves how they feel and who
they can turn to for help.