The Tell
Published on 13. March 2025
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-5299-3270-6 (ISBN)
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 Gisele 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.
'With this powerful little book, she joins the ranks of women who, like the brilliant Gisele 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.
Reviews / Votes
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. * Oprah Winfrey * Transformative and illuminating. Through every agonizing revelation, Amy Griffin refuses to pave over her pain, opting instead to embrace the entirety of it. This is a powerful story of what can happen self-compassion replaces fear as the governing force of one's life. * Chanel Miller, Bestselling author of Know My Name * The Tell is raw, brave and deeply freeing...Amy, your courage is a light for so many. I'm so proud to stand beside you as you share this masterpiece with the world. * Gwyneth Paltrow * Hope, heart and honesty... another amazing woman sharing her story. * Naomi Watts * The Tell is the most powerful memoir I've read in years. It's the rare story that will liberate you from shame, empower you to stop cycles of abuse, and make it safer for you to tell the truth. * Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Potential * Our minds may repress, but our bodies keep the score. The Tell by Amy Griffin is an honest book that will help us trust that wisdom. There is no better guide than Griffin, whose story proves it is what we do with our experience that matters. * Gloria Steinem * Those of us lucky to know Amy Griffin know she's a lovely person in every way. Her courageous, generous memoir is both a reckoning with a terrible, all-too-common experience... and a searching and empathetic inquiry into the meanings of goodness, self-blame, and forgiveness. * Hanya Yanagihara [on Instagram], bestselling author of A Little Life * An extraordinary memoir paced like an expertly plotted thriller . . . I will be thinking about this book for a long time. * Jessica Knoll , New York Times bestselling author of Bright Young Women * I started The Tell while sitting in my car . . . and literally spent the morning in the parking lot because I couldn't stop reading. Your own heart will break, and mend, as you read. * Susan Cain, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet and Quiet, and host of the Quiet Life community * With this powerful little book, she joins the ranks of women who, like the brilliant Gisele Pelicot in France, are shaking off the stigma of abuse and reattaching it to the perpetrators. * The Times * Overflowing with heart and determination, The Tell is the story of the day-by-day, step-by-step, hard-won push through harrowing emotional terrain. Griffin shines a path forward through the dark. * Mariska Hargitay * An important, wholly believable account of how long-buried but profoundly formative experiences finally emerge. * Kirkus * The Tell is a beautiful account of the journey of courage it takes to face the truth of one's past, and the beneficial role that a combination of skillful therapy and psychedelics can play in putting one's life in order. * Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score * Amy Griffin has done something remarkable: She's turned life-shattering trauma into a life-giving gift. The Tell is the most powerful memoir I've read in years. It's the rare story that will liberate you from shame, empower you to stop cycles of abuse, and make it safer for you to tell the truth. It broke my heart and still left me filled with hope. * Adam Grant * Overflowing with heart and determination, The Tell is the story of a journey-the day-by-day, step-by-step, hard-won push through harrowing emotional terrain. Here is someone moving steadily toward freedom and spreading so much light along the way. In finding the words to tell her story, in showing what it is to trust herself, Amy Griffin shines a path forward through the dark. * Mariska Hargitay *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Ebury Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 219 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
394 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-3270-6 (9781529932706)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Amy Griffin is the founder of the investment firm G9 Ventures. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Bumble, Spanx, and Gagosian, in addition to the Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Women's Board of the Boys Club of New York. She lives in New York City with her husband, John, and their four children.