This is a brave one. When Amy Griffin's daughter mentions that she doesn't really know her, Griffin begins to analyze behaviors that she has used for some time to protect herself, to keep her slightly distanced from others. But protect herself from what she wonders? Perfectionism, control, hypervigilance are what Griffin has used to keep the memories at bay, and when she finally takes a look underneath the coping tools, the memories come flooding back. This is about trauma, the impact of that trauma and the healing that tries to occur without justice being served. I found this to be well written, honest and brave. I think Griffin will help many with this work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the ARC!

Amy Griffin bravely writes about a secret that she’s held onto for a very long time. Through the dirt roads of her hometown Amarillo, through her college experience in Virginia as a student athlete to building a family and a successful business in New York City, Amy’s life looks perfect on paper. But there’s something that’s hiding beneath the surface, in the deep recesses of her memory. Something that, and through psychedelic therapy, she grapples with processing.
This book contains at times graphic descriptions of sexual abuse which was hard to read. But Amy’s story was so important to tell, and not just to us readers, but to the people closest to her. It’s a story I wish no woman had to tell. As a mental health therapist, this story is an example of how the body stores trauma and what that looks like for one individual. This book with stay with me for a long time.

-review will be shared on Goodreads and Instagram

Greenwich is Broad's debut novel which follows seventeen year old Rachel over the course of a life-changing summer in the late 1990s. I enjoyed the perspective, that of a teenager from Massachusetts in the 1990s since I was also a teenager in Massachusetts in the 1990s, so I can speak to many of the references being authentic. To be fair, most of the book is set in Greenwich, Connecticut, known as an extremely wealthy enclave where many financially elite people live in order to commute to New York City. Here, Rachel lives with her privileged aunt and uncle (the Corbins), her three year old cousin Sabine, and Sabine's Black nanny, Claudia. She is purportedly keeping an eye on her aunt (facing chronic pain after an accident) for her mother, while her mother cares for Rachel's younger sister, battling cancer. Rachel quickly observes her aunt, Ellen, acting strangely, and it isn't long before she discovers why. Meanwhile, Rachel develops feelings for Claudia, and life becomes complicated. A tragic accident occurs and this is where the tensions of the novel really develop - the frictions between being white and wealthy versus being the Black "help." Claudia is certainly educated and not from poverty, but still lives a life of stark contrast to the Corbins. I enjoyed that the novel asked a lot of big questions without coming across as sanctimonious or being too black-and-white. The novel is more of a slow-burn than a page-turner, but always an enjoyable and insightful read.

Some people have a story to tell the world—to tell women—to tell our daughters….”The Tell” is exactly this type of memoir. It sure wouldn’t hurt if a few good men read this too.
At only 288 pages (not a huge time commitment), — “The Tell” could be read in a day or two…. or a reader (like me) might take four days because I was having discussions about it with my husband—and or looking up some details….(which I’ll get to in this review eventually).
I’m so in awe by Amy Griffin …..really moved …. I’ve been touched profoundly.

Note….
….many of my friends….literary readers …. Booker-nominated readers, psychological thriller readers, historical fiction readers, etc. ‘pause’ before choosing to read a memoir …. (and especially one that might include sexual abuse)…. but I promise there is something in here for everyone.
I CAN’T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH!!!!
There is something about the way it’s written ….about Amy herself ….that many readers will relate to. …..
Contextually the writing, descriptions, and detail, broadens our experience of time, culture, and society.
Intimately….we are right with Amy. I’d love to know this women — share lunch and a conversation with her.

Oh….and before I forget ….if you live in Texas — or have ever lived in Texas ….read it (I’d personally like to have a chitchat with you) …
Okay….so I’m standing tall — ha! all at 5’2” tall ….saying this memorial is PHENOMENAL….and I hope a substantial number of people — from all walks of life read it.

I know myself ….I have pages more I want to write about this book and why I find it so valuable….but ….instead I’ll save my ongoing chatterbox enthusiasm—wanting very much to champion Amy’s memoir for a book-chat discussion with others.
Fact is — every once in a while, I Book comes along that you want to put in the hands of everyone you know… Everyone you love.

However….I need to share a little content ….yes?
Here goes ….(but remember—readers experiences will be much personal — much more affecting than this review. So just read it!!!
Talk about it with others:

Meet Amy….
….One of four siblings, …..tall, thin, blonde, beautiful, a gifted athlete, President of her High School in her Senior year, a natural born leader, Captain of the Volleyball Team, a girl that was always ‘running’ (literally), and top 2% of her class. A perfectionist.
Her family in Amarillo, in northwestern Texas, in the Panhandle, loved her.
Amy’s parents had high expectations on her. Amy had even higher expectations on herself.
After a colorful College experience….Amy married John. They had four children — sounds pretty perfect on the outside ….
But ….not so fast …. Amy’s inner life was breaking down….
All her daily running-routine (one example), was simply a way to avoid those inevitable empty feelings inside her.
“I believed that the pain of maintaining the status quo was greater than the pain of facing whatever it was I have been trying to outrun”.

Skipping ahead…..and sharing more about those ‘details’ I googled a dozen times — (eventually…Amy was seriously beginning to break down)……
We are introduced to Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (pure MDMA).

Personal share:
….My husband has been studying….Psychedelic Assisted Therapy for YEARS. You’d think he was working towards his PhD….so I wasn’t completely unaware about it ….but
I was busy reading my own books (not studying details after details about MDMA scientific research)….
but Amy’s book gave me a personal experience. My respect for helpful legitimacy has been greatly increased.

“We’ve become more trauma-informed as a society, so we are getting better at seeing now that people with trauma are more susceptible to mental illness, chemical, dependency, and other chronic health issues—even if they seem to be doing well. But we don’t always see is how the ambition of high achieving people can be a trauma response. Sometimes a person who appears to have it together might actually need support”.

Our bodies can be receiving messages for years about past trauma. Things like perfectionism, people, pleasing, the inability to slow down, or even living in a large city, like New York City, can delay memory for years because of the stimulating environment rewards of their hypervigilance.

The process of how a qualified facilitator worked with Amy was fascinating. I hadn’t really thought much about the way memory works…..or uncovering them. ‘The Tell’ gave me a greater understanding (experientially)…..
Just reading about the three phrases that memory involves fascinated me: encoding, storage, and recall. I won’t go further the science of it, but I got incredibly interested.
more importantly…..
…..MDMA can help a person feel safe and connected within themselves. It comes activity in the amygdala and releases oxytocin—a hormone that increases connection, trust, and the brain capacity to learn and change.
…..MDMA is not classified as
hallucinogen. It’s been called both an entactogen—because it enables a ‘touching within’ that promotes introspection and reflection—and an empatgogen, because it can’t evoke deep empathy for oneself and others.

Much more personal ….
….we take the journey with Amy….. as she discovers more about herself …. a secret that she had been running from her entire life….
We walk alongside with Amy …..
through difficult emotions, anger, grief, fear, courage, grace, clarity, and the healing and wisdom she uncovers.

“The Tell” ….. is all grim. I had a lot of fun — even some nostalgic memories doing cartwheels in the park, free range playing in open fields, riding my banana-seat-Schwinn bike, pink jelly sandals, (a bag of Funnyruns was new to me), but Slushy drinks were not.

“There were two worlds. There was the one outside, where I could be wild, always in a swimsuit, my hair bleached from the summer sun and dry umber dirt under my fingernails. I was as rugged and free as the longhorns that, according to folklore, still roamed Palo Duro Canyon. Then there was the world inside, a world of things, which was ruled by order, exemplified by the stores my family owned. The aisles and shelves were organized, each product perfectly lined up. Space was maximized in the interest of efficiency. Surfaces were tidy”.

I’m a fan of Amy Griffin! Thankful she told her story for the world to experience.

I was gripped by this book from start to finish. It read like a psychological thriller. I was also very intrigued by the author's inclusion of a lot of science behind trauma and memory. I did find some of the backstory about the author's childhood slow and thought it could have been compressed. But overall I'd highly recommend this book.

"The Tell" is one of the most painful and memoirs I've encountered to date - for curious readers, it should be noted that there are some very difficult scenes and memories recounted, so (as the book does in the introduction) a T/W should be noted in advance.

For as far as she can remember, Amy Griffin has been running - from her childhood in Amarillo, Texas to her adulthood in New York City, it was an indefatigable drive that forced her to continue, even at the expense of her own physical body. On the surface, Amy's life was perfect: a successful career, a loving husband, and four healthy children. In reality, however, Amy knew something was wrong. From her inexplicable need for perfection and control, she'd placed all her focus on crafting a polished appearance; what mattered most was what others saw. It isn't until she decides to give psychedelic-therapy a try with MDMA that Amy's forced to confront a brutal and painful truth about her childhood - a memory she'd repressed for decades in an attempt to survive. What follows is Amy's journey to accept the reality of her past and to come to terms with it in the present, as best she can. It is simultaneously a very personal one, as she begins to share with her family and close friends the truth about what happened, and a complex legal one as she's forced to navigate the complicated (and at times nonsensical) statues and clauses specific to Texas.

Amy's story is unfortunately not an uncommon one; far too many women have experienced sexual abuse and assault, and in Amy's case, her age as a minor made her even more vulnerable as a victim. Her story is an emotional roller coaster a we follow her triumphs and successes, but also the pitfalls as she attempts to get justice and is thwarted by an inexplicable legal system and the continued societal structure that devalues the voice of a woman. While not all things are concluded cleanly, I appreciated that Amy focused on her own personal growth and her acceptance of her own identity and emotions.

A much-needed memoir and one that many will come to appreciate when it's published in March 2025!

When justice against abuse isn’t always possible with the law, the next best thing is to tell the story. It has been said: writing can help us heal. It can also benefit readers especially those that can relate to a buried traumatic secret that is within.

Amy Griffin went to a therapist. She was a perfectionist and overachiever. She had a difficult time relaxing. Something was wrong and she needed to figure it out. Therapy was helpful but it wasn’t enough.

Next, she went to a counselor who gave her a psychedelic dose of pure MDMA. She said this drug was known to help people remember their past – a past that is so deep that it’s locked up inside the brain. When she learned about what happened to her at a young age, a huge burst of emotions came out. From that moment, her world changed.

She took time to examine the insides of her heart and soul. Griffin told her husband first, then reached out to her close friends, sister and parents in Texas and finally made her way to tell it to her four children. Her personal experience at 12 years old finally was revealed not just to her family and friends…but now to everyone.

This book is well written, informative and thought-provoking. The statistics are all over the map. It acknowledges that a high number of teenage girls suffer from abuse which affects their adult lives.

All readers should agree that this needs to change…but how when too often books with discussions about sexual harassment, violence have been taken off the shelves. Let’s hope this one stays. It’s a good book to help people regenerate their own power and strength.

My thanks to The Dial Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of March 11, 2025.

This emotionally searing memoir about the toll of suppressed memory was quite the read. It took a lot of courage for Amy Griffin to write with such vulnerability about her own childhood abuse, and how she suppressed the memories so completely. That hidden harm left her with a need for perfection no matter what the costs -- a brittle shell to hide the damage. Confusing glimmers and flashes of suppressed incidents began to emerge when her own daughters reached the age she was when the abuse began, and it ultimately shattered the facade. Her journey through her own past and the healing that she was ultimately able to attain make this memoir a keeper on par with The Glass Castle. #RandomHouse #Netgalley

For years, Griffin ran: she ran through rain and snow and dodgy parts of town, through injury and illness and uncertainty. What she didn't stop to ask herself was what she was running from. But you can't outrun your past forever, and eventually, Griffin knew it was time to face her past—and to figure out just what memories were hovering just out of reach.

"How did I know that this was what I needed to do? Even now, I don't really understand it. I just knew that I had built up walls, and I did not know how to tear them down. I knew that I was tired of running. And I knew that I could not hide in the vastness of the life I had built any longer—a life so big that I'd disappeared in it." (loc. 994*)

Griffin's story ends up being an intersection of trauma, recovery, and the parts in between: psychedelic-assisted therapy, belated understanding of her own actions and reactions throughout earlier years of her life, the limitations of the justice system, and the damage done by a Texan purity culture that—implicitly and explicitly—encouraged girls to stay silent when what they experienced wasn't painless, wasn't pretty.

This is clearly the product of years of work—first to put the pieces together for herself, then to share those pieces with the people around her and figure out what came next, and finally to turn this into a cohesive story. It's tightly told, and the psychedelic portion of the story is unusual; I appreciated the conversations with various experts worked into the memoir (probably included to forestall skepticism, but as someone who is more ignorant than skeptical, I found it useful too), but mostly I was just in it for the journey.

"Sometimes, when I told people, they praised me for doing 'the work,' because, they said, it made me a better example to my children, a better wife to my husband, or a better friend to those closest to me. Women are always doing things so we can be better for other people. My relationships had changed for the better, but I didn't do it for anyone else. I did it for me." (loc. 3079)

Worth mentioning that the content warnings for sexual assault at the beginning of the book are warranted; I think the book is well worth reading, but know yourself and your limits.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

The Tell is an incredible story about overcoming abuse and what it means to heal. It is hard to read in places, but only because it is so raw and upsetting at times. As a victim of sexual abuse myself, I found myself in the pages. Amy is a high-functioning and confident young women, and yet when she suddenly remembers her childhood abuse, it turns her world upside down. The Tell is sensitively written, and deals with truly difficult subject material, but it is all about healing and navigating a world where abusers aren't always brought to justice.

More than just a catharsis for the author

I’m generally rather wary of reading this kind of genre, rather unkindly described as ‘misery memoirs’ This is not because I have negative attitudes towards the genre itself, rather, I always question my own motivation for reading them. There can be a general human tendency towards a kind of gratuitous, prurient rubbernecking. You can see it in the very obvious way clickbait operates.

I would not have requested this at all, were it not for the fact that Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score) praises it. I work with people with PTSD, so always look to learn

Griffin’s story is not, sadly, an uncommon one. As one of the people she went to, when needing support for her own journey into healing, pointed out, 1 in 3 women will experience abuse. A pretty shocking, appalling statistic

Where she goes radically beyond the personal, is in an exploration and understanding of the learned culture which damages women, and gives rise to toxic masculinity. Griffin comes from a loving and supportive family,in her parents and siblings and was fortunate to find a life partner who is, perhaps, an unusually loving and supportive man. Their children, too, perhaps because of a generational positive environment, are perceptive and wise. However, as a Texan women, her cultural ocean was perhaps particularly focused towards women being graceful and gracious in supporting and validating their menfolk, for women to defer to masculine authority, and for men in positions of power to have a high sense of entitlement.

The book is also interesting in its exploration of psychedelics, particularly MDMA as a potential tool within therapy. Unfortunately we in the West have too much of a tendency to abuse these kinds of drugs, purely going for recreation with them. Sometimes with very negative results. Griffin worked with some wonderful practitioners and professionals in other areas, and recounts, clearly, her healing journey. She spends much more time on the upward spiral of her journey than the deeply horrible experience which traumatised her.

I could not avoid all my feelings of rage, disbelief and incomprehension that so many American, including so many women, were still minded to vote for a rapist and serial abuser of women, a man of arrogant conviction in his own rightness, to return as their President, over voting for a woman who so clearly is a woman of integrity, intelligence and heart. This is not the journey of this book, it is not overtly part of Griffin’s personal journey, but, for sure, this reader found her personal, is for sure, political.

In this powerful memoir, Griffin realizes there is something she is running from. Eventually, she tries alternative therapy, psychedelic therapy to be exact, to help bring her mind the protection it needs to release a traumatic past. From there, Griffin seeks justice and affirmation for what had happened. We see how the trauma affects her, her family, and others. I thank her for her vulnerability.

This book shows how psychedelic therapy can be helpful, and I look forward to more research in that area as time goes on.

I’m full of admiration for Amy telling her story. It’s beautifully written and although it’s not an easy read at times it is such a moving and helpful book.

In The Tell, Griffin lets readers in to her very personal experience of recognizing and living through the trauma and grief of her childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a trusted person. Feeling exhausted, run-down, constantly empty and on guard, though not sure why, adult Griffin partakes in psychedelic-assisted therapy where memories long forgotten and sealed off resurface. This deeply emotional memoir details her abuse and her process to justice and healing. Written with grace, vulnerability, and sincerity, The Tell is a book for mothers, sisters, survivors, and women everywhere.

Thank you Random House for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Available Mar. 11 2025

Such an interesting narrative. The book was a bit slow to get started but once launched was full of interesting plot points and details and characters. I did question how the psychedelics fit in--would have liked a more nuanced explanation.

Amy's memoir truly deep and memorable. Her raw honesty and incredible courage made me feel seen and understood in ways I didn’t expect. Her story reminded me that even in our darkest moments, there’s hope and a way forward.

I applaud Amy for sharing her story. Brave and authentic and all hers! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Amazing writing.

An absolutely stunning memoir. I read it in one sitting and had tears streaming down my face for most of it. Amy - I admire your bravery in writing this. Thank you for "doing the work" and sharing it with all of us. So many of us (women especially) carry trauma and struggle with perfectionism and your book will help so many people.