#72 Distorted · Read It Before the World Does

For three years, I’ve been building something bigger than this podcast.

It’s called Distorted: How Gaslighting and Poetic Truth Bend Our Perception of Reality.

And now — before the hardcover and paperback release in February 2026 — the Early Access Edition is here.

This episode is the behind-the-scenes story of how the book came to life, why it’s coming out early, and how you can be part of the launch. Expect dry humor, self-deprecation, and more family roasts than I probably should admit.

Grab the Early Access Edition now for $9.99 on Kindle → amazon.com/author/detjen

Leave a review, share it, and help this book cut through the fog before the world even sees the hardcover.

Support the show

Stay sharp. Stay skeptical. #SpotTheGaslight
Read and reflect at Gaslight360.com/clarity

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
I used to joke that by the time I turned fifty, I'd

(00:02):
finally have something worthsaying, and then reality gaslit
me, because it turns out I'vebeen saying things for decades,
just usually the wrong ones, orat least the ones nobody asked
for.
But here's the thing every rant,every scribble, every late night
observation, they stacked up,and many years later, here we

(00:23):
are.
This is Think First, where wedon't follow the script.
We question it.
Because in a world full ofpoetic truths and professional
gaslighting, someone's gotta saythe quiet part out loud.
My kids ended up at thoseschools with names that make

(00:46):
people nod in approval.
And apparently, I'm the familyoutlier.
And let me tell you, they are somuch smarter than me, it's
insulting.
They throw around words likeepistemology at dinner.
Meanwhile, I'm just trying toremember if epistemology is a
new TikTok filter.
When I remind them I'm thefather who raised them, they
remind me the brains must haveskipped a generation.

(01:07):
And my wife, she's the reason Ihaven't wandered completely off
course.
She pokes holes in everything Isay until I finally land on
something worth defending.
She's basically the unpaideditor of my entire life.
So, yes, I finally wrote thebook.
It's called Distorted HowGaslighting and Poetic Truth

(01:28):
Bend Our Perception of Reality.
And today, I'm pulling back thecurtain.
The early access edition ishere, right now, on Kindle, 999.
This is the complete core book,the real deal, but you're
getting it months before thehardcover hits the shelves on
February 10th, 2026, which meansyou get to read it before the

(01:50):
world does.
Now, you might be wondering, whyrelease it this way?
Because in publishing, earlyreviews matter more than oxygen.
Amazon looks at them.
Barnes and Noble looks at them.
The New York Times looks atthem.
Without reviews, a book is likeone of those new Coke
experiments, hyped, launched,and forgotten in six weeks.

(02:12):
So, yes, this early accessedition isn't just about getting
the book first, it's abouthelping it live, helping it
break through, and maybe evengiving the folks at the times a
reason to say, huh, maybe weshould pay attention to this
one.
Across these pages, I unpack howgaslighting and poetic truth

(02:32):
twist the way we see the world,not just in headlines, but in
the everyday stories we take forgranted.
History rewritten, politicsreframed, media curated,
economics spun, culturenarrative managed, even health
and wellness rebranded untilbroccoli becomes detox and soda
becomes hydration.
And, yes, even those strangercorners where the stories get

(02:56):
wild, from conspiracy tomythology, from UFOs and
near-death experiences, to themodern cover-ups that make your
group chat light up with Did yousee this?
links at 2 a.m.
But, don't worry.
This isn't a conspiracy book.
There's no tinfoil hat tuckedinside the cover, it's a
survival manual for cuttingthrough the spin, the

(03:17):
gaslighting, and the poetictruths that dress up as facts
and walk around like they'rerunning for office.
And, look, I'll be honest, halfthe time I was writing this, I
thought, who am I kidding?
Malcolm Gladwell has his popsociology empire.
Jonathan Haidt has moralpsychology locked down.
Orwell gave us the instructionmanual.

(03:38):
And me?
I have a podcast microphone, astubborn streak, and kids who
roast me in group chat.
But maybe that's the point.
This book wasn't written fromthe Ivory Tower.
It was written from the kitchentable, from late-night
scrolling, from raising a familyin the middle of cultural chaos.

(03:59):
Because if the last few yearstaught us anything, it's this.
The truth doesn't just get lost,it gets choreographed, with
hashtags, with headlines, withofficial statements that sound
like they were written by an adagency testing slogans for
laundry detergent.
Gaslighting isn't chaos, it'schoreography.
And poetic truth?

(04:20):
That's the soundtrack.
So here's where you come in.
The early access edition is liveright now.
If you read it and leave areview, you'll be the reason
this book breaks through thefog.
And as a thank you, when thehardcover lands in February,
I'll send you a signed firstedition.
This isn't just about sales,it's about building a team.

(04:40):
Because once you see howdistorted the world really is,
you can't unsee it.
And that's exactly what scaresthe people who profit from the
fog.
So, grab it today, read itbefore the world does, and leave
your mark on launch day.
Distorted, how gaslighting andpoetic truth bend our perception
of reality.
Early Access Now, expandedhardcover coming February 10th.

(05:04):
And remember, you don't need allthe answers, but you should
question the ones you're handed.
Until next time, stay skeptical,stay curious, and always think
first.