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The Tell

The Tell

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

‘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 the 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.

© Amy Griffin 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

About the author

Amy Griffin

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.
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