The Tell

By: Amy Griffin

Narrated by: Amy Griffin

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.

©2025 Amy Griffin (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Amy Griffin - The Tell

I have learnt so much by listing to this memoir. Love the wat she read it, but especially her bravery and strength. The support her husband and family gave her through this time was also very heartening. Excellent book.

So powerful!

Thank you for sharing your story Amy. It moved me in so many ways.

Honest.

It is a honest mirror. The author allowed us to looked with her in the mirror.

real, raw

I hung on her every word. finally someone's story that I understood, related to and yet I could not have put it in a more beautifully written way. thank you for sharing your heart and wisdom