I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying
{{Short description| 2019 memoir by Bassey Ikpi}}{{Infobox book
| image = I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying.jpg
| author = Bassey Ikpi
| pub_date = 2019
| publisher = Harper Perennial
| genre = Memoir
}}
{{italic title}}
I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying is a memoir by Nigerian spoken word artist Bassey Ikpi published by Harper Perennial an imprint of HarperCollins in 2019.{{cite interview|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/08/17/751986892/book-im-telling-the-truth-but-im-lying|title=Bassey Ikpi On 'I'm Telling The Truth, But I'm Lying'|first=Bassey|last=Ikpi|interviewer=Scott Simon|location=Weekend Edition|newspaper=NPR|date=August 17, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bassey-ikpi/im-telling-the-truth-but-im-lying/|first=Bassey|last=Ikpi|title=I'M TELLING THE TRUTH, BUT I'M LYING {{!}} KIRKUS REVIEWS|website=Kirkus Reviews|date=May 27, 2019}}
Plot
The book is described as "a deep personal work that chronicles the Nigerian-American author's life living with bipolar II disorder and anxiety, and a woman of color and combating the stigma surrounding it." The essays cover her difficulties as a young child re-locating from Nigeria to America, struggling with household tensions, depression and hospitalization, leading up to her eventual diagnosis of and treatment for bipolar II disorder.
Development
On May 4, 2017, it was announced that her first book, a memoir titled Making Friends With Giants would be published by Harper Perennial in 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://ericsmithrocks.com/2017/05/04/deals-making-friends-with-giants-by-bassey-ikpi-acquired-by-harper-perennial/|title=Deals: Making Friends With Giants by Bassey Ikpi Acquired by Harper Perennial|date=May 4, 2017|website=Eric Smith|access-date=2017-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505052213/http://ericsmithrocks.com/2017/05/04/deals-making-friends-with-giants-by-bassey-ikpi-acquired-by-harper-perennial/|archive-date=2017-05-05|url-status=dead}} The book, eventually renamed I'm Telling the Truth But I'm Lying was published in August 2019.
Reception
The book became a New York Times bestseller.{{Cite news|title=Paperback Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Sept. 8, 2019 - The New York Times|language=en-US|date=September 8, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2019/09/08/paperback-nonfiction/|issn=0362-4331}} Essence described it as a "stunning essay collection".{{Cite web|url=https://www.essence.com/culture/bassey-ikpi-im-telling-the-truth-but-im-lying-review/|title=How Writer Bassey Ikpi Intricately Weaves the Art Of Storytelling in Her Memoir About Mental Illness|website=Essence|last=Arceneaux |first=Michael |date=October 23, 2020}} Kola Tubosun calls it "a kind of map for those interested in learning about how mental illness affects people."{{Cite web|url=http://www.ktravula.com/2019/07/basseys-literature-as-truth-truth-as-literature/|title=Bassey’s Literature as Truth; Truth as Literature|date=July 18, 2019|author=Tobuson, Kola|website=Ktravula - a travelogue!}}