Summary

“This Is All Mostly True” by Kathy Stevens begins with the protagonist, Elsie, stating her parents’ and a person named Stacie’s opinions on lying, and noting that her parents give her different types of advice.

Elsie watches zombie films with her father whenever her mother goes out with her friends. Elsie believes that her mother has gone clubbing. Elsie’s father says that her mother drinks too much, and her mother says she drinks because Elsie’s father is cheating.

Elsie likes to watch her mother get dressed in the morning, but not after her mother has been out with her friends, because her mother gets agitated and then Elsie has an episode. The mother also tells Elsie that she stayed with Elsie’s father because of Elsie. Elsie believes that she is an obligation, a word she learned from Stacie.

Elsie is an only child. Her mother sometimes sings to her and hugs her, and other times tells her to go away or ...