None of This Is True: A Novel

Control is important to Josie, and as the story develops, she attempts to reassume what she sees as lost control over her life by exposing her truth through interviews with Alix. However, Josie’s need for control extends far beyond her own life, for she also seeks to control the people around her: a trait that Alix doesn’t realize until it is too late. Although the podcaster is warned by a number of people in Josie’s life, Alix doesn’t realize the extent to which Josie seeks to insinuate herself into her life and control her. She doesn’t understand, until it is too late, that under the guise of offering Alix freedom, Josie has attempted to assume control of her life.

One of the first interviews presented in the novel is of Josie’s childhood friend, Helen, who offers an assessment of Josie that will be supported by others throughout the novel. Helen states that Josie “was always a bit odd. Controlling? She didn’t like it when I had other friends. She always wanted to make things about her. ‘Passive aggressive’ is the term these days” (56). This interview emphasizes the fundamental role that control plays in Josie’s actions and decisions. Even the ways in which Josie initially engages with Alix, by proposing a podcast about herself, places Josie at the center of their relationship.