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The Truth Hurts. So We Banned It.: In Search of Common Sense
What happens when a society decides truth is too uncomfortable to bear?
Professor Harold Dunst never imagined that quoting Aristotle would end his career. But when he tells his philosophy class that "truth exists independently of how you feel about it," a student's tears spark a national crisis.
Welcome to 2025, where words have been "therapeutically edited" to protect feelings. Where cancer becomes "cellular diversity experience." Where failure is "success-adjacent." Where reality itself has been cushioned, filtered, and euphemized into oblivion.
As the Ministry of Narrative Harmony rewrites dictionaries and the Bureau of Reassurance monitors every conversation, a handful of resisters fight an underground librarian hiding banned books, a news anchor tired of lying, a teenager who accidentally leaks the real statistics, and students demanding to know what 2+2 actually equals.
"The Truth Hurts. So We Banned It." is a darkly comic exploration of what we lose when we prioritize comfort over clarity. Through interconnected stories of collapse and resistance, this satirical novel Can a civilization survive when it can no longer name its problems?
Brilliantly funny yet chillingly plausible, this is 1984 meets Brave New World for the age of safe spaces and trigger warnings. A cautionary tale about the tyranny of kindness, the violence of euphemism, and the revolutionary act of calling things what they are.
Some truths hurt. That's how you know they matter.
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Praise For The Truth Hurts. So We Banned It."Uncomfortably relevant and impossibly funny, I couldn't put it down." —M.K.
"The most important book you'll read this year, disguised as satire." —J.R.T.
"Finally, someone said what we're all thinking but too afraid to say." —A.L.M.
"Orwell would approve. Sharp, savage, and terrifyingly prescient." —D.K.W.
"I laughed, I cringed, I checked if this was actually fiction." —S.P.H.
Professor Harold Dunst never imagined that quoting Aristotle would end his career. But when he tells his philosophy class that "truth exists independently of how you feel about it," a student's tears spark a national crisis.
Welcome to 2025, where words have been "therapeutically edited" to protect feelings. Where cancer becomes "cellular diversity experience." Where failure is "success-adjacent." Where reality itself has been cushioned, filtered, and euphemized into oblivion.
As the Ministry of Narrative Harmony rewrites dictionaries and the Bureau of Reassurance monitors every conversation, a handful of resisters fight an underground librarian hiding banned books, a news anchor tired of lying, a teenager who accidentally leaks the real statistics, and students demanding to know what 2+2 actually equals.
"The Truth Hurts. So We Banned It." is a darkly comic exploration of what we lose when we prioritize comfort over clarity. Through interconnected stories of collapse and resistance, this satirical novel Can a civilization survive when it can no longer name its problems?
Brilliantly funny yet chillingly plausible, this is 1984 meets Brave New World for the age of safe spaces and trigger warnings. A cautionary tale about the tyranny of kindness, the violence of euphemism, and the revolutionary act of calling things what they are.
Some truths hurt. That's how you know they matter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Praise For The Truth Hurts. So We Banned It."Uncomfortably relevant and impossibly funny, I couldn't put it down." —M.K.
"The most important book you'll read this year, disguised as satire." —J.R.T.
"Finally, someone said what we're all thinking but too afraid to say." —A.L.M.
"Orwell would approve. Sharp, savage, and terrifyingly prescient." —D.K.W.
"I laughed, I cringed, I checked if this was actually fiction." —S.P.H.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 23, 2025
Should be obvious
The contents of this book should be obvious to anyone with a modicum of intelligence, but, alas, are not. The collapse doesn't just start with feeling uncomfortable. It started when people began differentiating between Truth and "my truth."
The contents of this book should be obvious to anyone with a modicum of intelligence, but, alas, are not. The collapse doesn't just start with feeling uncomfortable. It started when people began differentiating between Truth and "my truth."
Review of advance copy received from Author
THE TRUTH HURTS. SO WE BANNED IT. - Another interesting and intriguing book that should wake up some folks. I started laughing, then ended up shaking my head in disgust. People are going to become more stupid in their thoughts and actions because they're already heading that way. Mr. Ryan does an excellent job showing us the stupidity. Source: The author. 4*
OPERATION CROSSLEGS HURRICANE - Funny. Truthful. Without getting into detail about the corruption, dishonesty, stupidity, and greed of the American government, Mr. Ryan tells an interesting story about common sense legally fixing the woes of the American people. Of course, women are the organizers of that common sense. Source: The author. 5*
THE LAST THIRD OF THE LAST SECOND - I enjoyed reading this book of humans missing the point on several topics. Mr. Ryan is a talented writer in several genres, including The Snark Files series. Intriguing story lines combined with the successes and failures of mankind made for an interesting and frustrating read. Our herd mentality overrides common sense and we act like vindictive five-year-olds (my opinion). This book contains all our self-made problems, without solutions. That's up to the present and future generations to solve, if they can put down their phones. Source: The author, ARC. 5*
OPERATION CROSSLEGS HURRICANE - Funny. Truthful. Without getting into detail about the corruption, dishonesty, stupidity, and greed of the American government, Mr. Ryan tells an interesting story about common sense legally fixing the woes of the American people. Of course, women are the organizers of that common sense. Source: The author. 5*
THE LAST THIRD OF THE LAST SECOND - I enjoyed reading this book of humans missing the point on several topics. Mr. Ryan is a talented writer in several genres, including The Snark Files series. Intriguing story lines combined with the successes and failures of mankind made for an interesting and frustrating read. Our herd mentality overrides common sense and we act like vindictive five-year-olds (my opinion). This book contains all our self-made problems, without solutions. That's up to the present and future generations to solve, if they can put down their phones. Source: The author, ARC. 5*
December 19, 2025
Mankind's evolution is quite the tough, convoluted road purely aimed at whatever threats life may produce.
But what if?
What if life is now easier? What if our reliance on each other is the way forward? What if your neighbour's concern and care is becoming essential on your survival.
What if his/her feelings guides your responses irrespective of truth?
The Truth Hurts. So We Banned It by JC Ryan poses this question. The results are posed chapter by chapter.
And first you laugh. Heartily. Then in a more strained way til it dries up totally. And you keep on paging in growing unbelief and surprised how true some of it may be or can become so.
You have been warned!
Enjoy (while you still feel comfortable to do so.)
But what if?
What if life is now easier? What if our reliance on each other is the way forward? What if your neighbour's concern and care is becoming essential on your survival.
What if his/her feelings guides your responses irrespective of truth?
The Truth Hurts. So We Banned It by JC Ryan poses this question. The results are posed chapter by chapter.
And first you laugh. Heartily. Then in a more strained way til it dries up totally. And you keep on paging in growing unbelief and surprised how true some of it may be or can become so.
You have been warned!
Enjoy (while you still feel comfortable to do so.)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews