Can We Trust Each Other Again?
Understanding lying in relationships, trust, and practical dialogue exercises
By Gildas Garrec · 220 pages · 2026
About this book
Explore lying in relationships: conflict avoidance, protecting one’s image and concealment. Practical exercises on trust and dialogue, without treating all men alike.
You sense he's lying, but you doubt your own intuition — and you no longer know if it's you who's "crazy" or him who's hiding something? This book doesn't set out to accuse all men in one sweep: across four parts, it examines what the research actually says about lying in relationships, the sociological context of today's dating landscape (including the "monkey branching" phenomenon), and, above all, four distinct mechanisms behind male lying — conflict avoidance, image protection, alexithymia (the inability to identify and name one's own emotions), and active concealment. The link with avoidant attachment is explored in depth, along with how your own history has calibrated your "radar" for lies. Grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and enriched with twelve clinical case studies and fifteen practical exercises, this guide closes with a four-step dialogue protocol for restoring truth in your relationship — without becoming a detective, and without sacrificing your mental health.
Table of contents
- 1What Your Doubt Reveals — and What It Does Not
- 2What You Will Not Find in This Book
- 3How to Read This Book
- 4One Last Word Before We Begin
- 5Part I — Naming What You Feel
- 6Chapter 1 — The Doubt That Won't Let You Go
- 7Chapter 2 — What the Studies Actually Say
- 8Chapter 3 — Your Radar Was Calibrated by Your History
- 9Part II — Understanding the Sociological Context
- 10Chapter 4 — The Contemporary Relationship Market
- 11Chapter 5 — Monkey Branching: The Safety Branch
- 12Chapter 6 — Avoidant Attachment and the Dilution of the Bond
- 13Part III — The 4 Mechanisms of Male Deception in Couples
- 14Chapter 7 — The Lie of Conflict Avoidance
- 15Chapter 8 — The Lie of Self-Image Protection
- 16Chapter 9 — The Lie by Alexithymia
- 17Chapter 10 — The Lie of Active Concealment
- 18Part IV — What to Do With Your Intuition
- 19Chapter 11 — Reading the Signals Without Becoming a Detective
- 20Chapter 12 — The Four-Step Dialogue Protocol
- 21Conclusion — Your Doubt Deserves to Be Heard
- 22Appendix A — 15 Practical CBT Exercises
- 23Appendix B — 12 Clinical Case Studies
- 24Appendix C — Scientific Bibliography
- 25Appendix D — Practical Resources
- 26In the Same Collection
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