Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • An astonishing memoir that explores how far we will go to protect ourselves, and the healing made possible when we face our secrets and begin to share our stories “The Tell encourages us to recognize that sometimes you must understand your own pain to fully experience life’s greatest joys—and Amy’s courage, vulnerability, and insight are a gift to us all.”—Reese Witherspoon, TIME 100 Most Influential People of 2025 “A beautiful account of the journey of courage it takes to face the truth of one’s past.”—Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score For decades, Amy ran. Through the dirt roads of Amarillo, Texas, where she grew up; to the campus of the University of Virginia, as a student athlete; on 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 herself. “You’re here, but you’re not here,” her daughter said to her one night. “Where are you, Mom?” So began Amy’s quest to solve a mystery trapped in the deep recesses of her own memory—a journey that would take her into the burgeoning field of psychedelic therapy, to the limits of the judicial system, and ultimately, home to the Texas panhandle, where her story began. In her search for the truth, to understand and begin to recover from buried childhood trauma, Griffin interrogates the pursuit of perfectionism, control, and maintaining appearances that drives so many women, asking, when, in our path from girlhood to womanhood, did we learn to look outside ourselves for validation? What kind of freedom is possible if we accept the whole story and embrace who we really are? With hope, heart, and relentless honesty, she points a way forward for all of us, revealing the power of radical truth-telling to deepen our connections—with others and ourselves.

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9780593731208

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Reviews

“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 “An extraordinary memoir paced like an expertly plotted thriller, each page unraveling the mystery of who Amy is and what happened to her . . . The moment the truth is revealed stopped my breath in my throat. Amy’s story enraged me, shocked me, broke my heart and put it back together again—I will be thinking about this book for a long time.”—Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Bright Young Women

“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

“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 “An extraordinary memoir paced like an expertly plotted thriller, each page unravelling the mystery of who Amy is and what happened to her. The moment the truth is revealed stopped my breath in my throat. Amy’s story enraged me, shocked me, broke my heart and put it back together again—I will be thinking about this book for a long time.”—Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Bright Young Women

“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 “I started The Tell while sitting in my car, after an appointment, and literally spent the morning in the parking lot because I couldn’t stop reading. What a generous story. What beautiful writing, crafting and pacing. And what a heart Amy Griffin has. Your own heart will break, and mend, as you read her story.”—Susan Cain, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet and Quiet, and host of The Quiet Life Community “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 “An extraordinary memoir paced like an expertly plotted thriller, each page unraveling the mystery of who Amy is and what happened to her . . . The moment the truth is revealed stopped my breath in my throat. Amy’s story enraged me, shocked me, broke my heart and put it back together again—I will be thinking about this book for a long time.”—Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Bright Young Women “In this brave memoir, Amy Griffin reveals how confronting past wounds is the key to true healing, allowing us to live as thrivers, not merely survivors. Success in adulthood doesn’t erase the scars of childhood trauma. Griffin shares her journey with vivid detail and grace as she uncovers layers of long-hidden secrets.”—Nedra Glover Tawwab, New York Times bestselling author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace

Author Information

Amy Griffin lives in New York City with her husband, John, and their four children. She is the founder of the investment firm G9 Ventures. In 2025, she was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People.

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