White Lies
Subtitle: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception
Edition: First edition
Publisher: Cedar Creek Publishing; Cedar Creek Pub.
Published: November 21, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 283
ISBN-13: 9780979020513
Subjects: Fiction; Literature & Fiction / Drama; Vaccine Injuries; Vaccine Compensation Fund; Courtroom drama; Parenting issues
Genres: Drama
First sentence: In the shadowy place of my memories Danny stays small and blue-eyed, sweet and happy.
Description: The stark inexplicable instant when seizures attack a baby is every mother’s worst nightmare. When no one explains why it happened and that instant turns into years, most mothers give up hope. Not Lacy Stonington. After twenty years of silence and guilt about her son’s severe brain damage, she uncovers the truth by accident. By sheer force of will she convinces the only lawyer she knows in her small town to take on the vaccine manufacturers and the government fund set up in 1978 to insulate the manufacturers. For Jean Driscoll, an overworked and disillusioned divorce attorney, the case is fraught with dangers; an unknown area of law, a special Federal court, an emotional, unsophisticated client, and problems at home that will only be complicated by more time away. 

As Jean and Lacy struggle to locate old medical records, to force the doctors who treated Danny to reveal what they know, and to convince an expert lawyer to try the case, they find more common ground than either expected.  Despite challenges to the stated time of the hospital admission, Lacy’s credibility, and the hidden bias of the Government’s medical expert, she convinces the Judge to rule in her favor. As Lacy becomes an advocate for other injured children, Jean sees motherhood as a valuable career too and strikes a better balance between family and career.
Notes: Told in two voices, the mother of the injured baby and the rural female lawyer who joins in the quest for the truth, White Lies was nominated for the Library of Virginia fiction award in 2007. Copley News Service writes: “A brilliant debut by a fine new novelist, a rare gem - a superbly written tale that deals with the sorts of things that matter most in life - such as love and family - and also with such great and timeless themes as tragedy and triumph; character strengths and failings; duty, honor and integrity; and courage in the face of adversity. Sarah Collins Honenberger is a gifted storyteller, a master of nuance who knows how to move you deeply; how to lift your heart; how to grab your attention and hold it.”