As a part of our Hard Conversations series, the author of the New York Times best-seller ⁠The Tell and one of TIME's "2025 Women of the Year", Amy Griffin opens up about confronting trauma after decades of silence - and shares with us why sometimes the hardest conversation of all is the one you're afraid to even begin. With warmth and remarkable clarity, Amy shares how perfectionism and achievement served as her smokescreen until a series of events—including a profound comment by her daughter who said, "You're nice but you're not real " and her husband's experience with therapeutic MDMA—led her to face her past. What unfolds isn't just a story of trauma but a testament to the elasticity of love and the freedom that comes with truth-telling. As Amy puts it, "You think secrets keep you safe, but they keep you stuck," revealing how sharing her story allowed her to experience life in "technicolor"—loving deeper, crying harder, and finding joy on the other side of pain. Please note that this episode contains discussion of sexual abuse. This episode was made possible by a grant from Templeton Religion Trust. To learn more, go to ⁠templetonreligiontrust.org⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices