The Tell

By (author) Amy Griffin; By (author) Griffin Amy
Description:

''What beautiful writing, crafting, and pacing. And what a heart Amy Griffin has. Your own heart will break, and mend, as you read'' Susan Cain, #1 New York Times bestselling author

''With this powerful little book, she joins the ranks of women who, like the brilliant Gisèle Pelicot in France, are shaking off the stigma of abuse and reattaching it to the perpetrators'' The Times

‘For such a long time, people discussed my running. It took up so much space in my life. And yet nobody ever thought to ask: What are you running from?’

For decades, Amy ran. Through the dirt roads of Amarillo, Texas, where she grew up; to the streets of New York, where she built her adult life; through marriage, motherhood, and a thriving career. To outsiders, it all looked, in many ways, perfect. But Amy was running from something – a secret she was keeping not only from her family and friends, but unconsciously from something terrible in her past.

When her ten-year-old daughter confronts her on the distance between them, Amy is propelled to confront what she has spent a lifetime trying to escape. So begins Amy’s journey through the world of MDMA-assisted psychedelic therapy, to the limits of the judicial system, and ultimately, home to Texas, where her story began.

In her relentless search for the truth, Griffin scrutinises the pursuit of perfectionism, control, and maintaining appearances that drives so many women. She asks the question: When, in our path from girlhood to womanhood, did we learn to look outside ourselves for validation? And what kind of freedom is possible if we better protect girls from being taken advantage of on this journey. Heartbreaking, powerful and raw, The Tell points a way forward for all of us, shedding light on the courage and power of truth-telling that’s required to move through trauma.
‘For such a long time, people discussed my running. It took up so much space in my life. And yet nobody ever thought to ask:

What are you running from?’

For decades, Amy ran. Through the dirt roads of Amarillo, Texas, where she grew up; to the streets of New York, where she built her adult life; through marriage, motherhood, and a thriving career. To outsiders, it all looked, in many ways, perfect. But Amy was running from something – a secret she was keeping not only from her family and friends, but unconsciously from something terrible in her past.

When her ten-year-old daughter confronts her on the distance between them, Amy is propelled to confront what she has spent a lifetime trying to escape. So begins Amy’s journey through the world of MDMA-assisted psychedelic therapy, to the limits of the judicial system, and ultimately, home to Texas, where her story began.

In her relentless search for the truth, Griffin scrutinises the pursuit of perfectionism, control, and maintaining appearances that drives so many women. She asks the question: When, in our path from girlhood to womanhood, did we learn to look outside ourselves for validation? And what kind of freedom is possible if we better protect girls from being taken advantage of on this journey. Heartbreaking, powerful and raw, The Tell points a way forward for all of us, shedding light on the courage and power of truth-telling that’s required to move through trauma.

Review quote:
An extraordinary memoir by an author who ran literally from the dirt roads where she grew up in Texas to the streets of New York City in search of perfection as a wife, as a mother, as a highly successful business woman. But what she did not realize was that she was running from something that she had buried many years ago… I was just floored when I read Amy’s story.
Review quote:
Transformative and illuminating. Through every ago