The Tell

★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10

288 pages

What’s it about?

Amy Griffin can not figure out what she is running from.  Why is the need to be perfect so ingrained into her life? With the help of psychedelic drugs, she recovers memories of abuse and trauma from her childhood.  This book shares her story.

What did it make me think about?

Courage.

Should I read it?

So, this book is being talked about a lot!  It was just chosen as an Oprah Book Club Pick.  I decided to read it and see what the fuss was about.  I certainly understand why it is so popular.  It is a quick read, and Amy Griffin has a story to tell.  Sadly, although the statistics vary, sexual abuse in children is not a rare occurrence.  I am sure some will question how she came to remember the incidents, but she certainly was believable to me.  The subject of repressed memories is an interesting topic in itself, although it is a subject that is not without controversy. Let's face it- the human mind is still poorly understood.  "It was a reminder that multiple stories could be true at the same time, that we select our narratives in accordance with how honest we want to be and how honest we can be with ourselves."   Kudos to Amy Griffin for sharing her story.

A passage I marked

"Abuse, I was beginning to understand, was a tangled mess of shame and silence.  The abused learned early that survival sometimes means protecting the secrets of their abusers. Growing up doesn't mean that impulse goes away."