scandal-stained wretches

Jonah Lehrer’s ‘Book About Love’ Is About His Lying

Photo: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis

When Slate broke the news, in hilarious fashion, that serial self-plagiarist and quote-fabricator Jonah Lehrer’s new book idea is about the science of love, not his own misdeeds, no one could quite believe it. As it turns out, it’s both, according to a New York Times account of the pop-science fallen star’s “A Book About Love” proposal: “This book is about what has lasted in my own life,” Lehrer writes. “I wanted to write it down so that I would not forget; so that, one day, I might tell my young daughter what I’ve learned.”

That story includes puking and crying when his fraud was discovered: “Why was I crying? I had been caught in a lie, a desperate attempt to conceal my mistakes. And now it was clear that, within 24 hours, my fall would begin.” But ultimately, it’s a book about redemption, like giving a $20,000 speech to explain your screwups. “If I’ve learned anything from writing these words, it’s that love matters,” Lehrer declares. “It matters more than I ever thought possible.” Don’t call it a comeback just yet.

Jonah Lehrer Book Proposal About ‘Love,’ Lying