This chapter begins by stating the first lie that the author had to confront, that is, ‘something else will make me happy’ (Hollis, 2018). Hollis lived a life full of challenges that denied her the opportunity to be happy but found comfort in a misconception that when she grew up she would find something, or some other life that will make her happy. She narrates several struggles in life that made her unhappy both as a child, and as a grown up. For example, she wet her pants while playing with friends, and had to douse herself with a bottle of water so that her friends could not know what happened (Hollis, 2018).

This simple act made her hate herself because she had not accepted the person she was. She also grew up in a family with challenges characterized by cries, and fights (Hollis, 2018), an environment that could traumatise a child. Hollis (2018) states that “father handled stress with anger while mother handled stress by going to bed for weeks at a time”. This then means that there was no environment of peace, and sobriety but a traumatic environment that was not conducive for the development of a child. The demise of her brother (who committed suicide) further provided challenge, and compounded her problems.  Based on the photographs she posts on social media with her husband, however, people see her as a person leading a relatively better life (Hollis, 2018).