After being endorsed by the top celebrity book clubs, the best-selling memoir is under new scrutiny<\/p>\n
Amy Griffin’s “The Tell” was destined for success. For the first time ever, the memoir received joint promotion by the leaders of three major book clubs: Reese Witherspoon, Jenna Bush Hager and Oprah Winfrey<\/a>, who celebrated the launch together at an event in March. Winfrey chose it as her March 2025 book club pick<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In \u201cThe Tell,\u201d<\/a> Griffin recounts her experience of coming to terms with previously uncovered memories of alleged childhood abuse by a teacher. Now, a New York Times investigation<\/a> is raising questions about Griffin’s claims and is reigniting the debate about repressed memories and psychedelic-assisted therapy.<\/p>\n What is the controversy surrounding \u2018The Tell\u2019 by Amy Griffin?<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s memoir details her journey through MDMA-assisted therapy, which she says helped her uncover years of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of a teacher in middle and high school in Texas. Griffin says she had no memory of the abuse until she tried psychedelics, but knew going into therapy that she had childhood and sexual trauma she wanted to explore. On an episode of Winfrey\u2019s book club podcast<\/a>, she said that before the sessions she didn\u2019t know what that trauma was.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe secret that I discovered was the idea that I had been, for many years, abused in the school bathroom by a teacher,\u201d Griffin said on Winfrey\u2019s podcast<\/a>. \u201cI decided that, you know, if I went in and criminally investigated this person and I did everything I could to hold this person accountable, that if I could do that, then I would show that I was right and he was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin spoke with a detective to open a criminal case against the teacher, but the statute of limitations had run out.<\/p>\n The Times investigation, which included interviews of dozens of people in Amarillo, where Griffin went to school, found that after the publicity surrounding Griffin’s book, no other students came forward and no legal complaints were filed. That surprised both the detective Griffin spoke to and a local victim advocacy counselor. (Experts say prominent disclosures can encourage other survivors<\/a> to speak out.) One former classmate of Griffin\u2019s, who spoke anonymously to the Times, said her childhood abuse was \u201ceerily similar\u201d to what Griffin describes in \u201cThe Tell\u201d \u2013 but at the hands of a different teacher, not the teacher Griffin describes in the book. The classmate has retained a lawyer since reading the memoir, the Times reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s defamation lawyer told the Times that anyone who reads the book could make the false claim to have memories of abuse that align with what Ms. Griffin wrote.\u00a0But the Times report says that the classmate read the book after sharing her story with them.<\/p>\n Representatives for Griffin did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.<\/p>\n ‘The Tell’ controversy reflects larger memory debate<\/p>\n The concept of uncovering memories through therapy is hotly debated, and recovering memories in psychedelic-assisted treatment is a relatively new one.<\/p>\n Jim Hopper<\/a>, a clinical psychologist and expert on trauma and memory, prefers the term \u201cdelayed recall\u201d as a more accurate descriptor than “repressed memories” because the biological effects of stress can cause survivors to deeply store memories of their trauma. When a survivor retrieves those memories depends largely on context and cues, such as going back to the location where the trauma occurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople can go for years, even decades, without encountering what for them are the right combinations of context and cues to elicit recall,\u201d Hopper told USA TODAY. Entering a safe therapy setting ready to explore unresolved trauma, he says, could be that environment. Hopper, who read both \u201cThe Tell\u201d and the Times investigation, says he has seen some patients who falsely believe they\u2019re remembering an experience that never occurred, but says he\u2019s seen many more cases that have been independently corroborated.<\/p>\n \u201c(Griffin) did have, this sense \u2013 this belief, we can say \u2013 that something happened to her that she wasn’t remembering,\u201d Hopper says. \u201cSome ideas and beliefs could potentially lead her to recall something that didn’t happen, but it also could be based in reality that something did happen to her, and she finally felt safe to allow herself to be open to what it might be.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, Hopper worries that this debate will make people hesitant to believe victims of sexual assault.<\/p>\n Who is Amy Griffin?<\/p>\n Griffin is a venture capitalist and an author. She founded investment firm G9, which has backed female-founded brands like Gwyneth Paltrow\u2019s Goop,<\/a> Spanx, Bumble and Reese Witherspoon\u2019s Hello Sunshine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Griffin grew up the daughter of a prominent Texas family known for owning \u201cToot’n Totum,\u201d a chain of convenience stores and car wash services. Before her investment ventures, Griffin worked in marketing for magazines like Ms. and Sports Illustrated. She is married to John Griffin<\/a>, the founder of Blue Ridge Capital hedge fund. They have four children.<\/p>\n In April, she was named one of Time\u2019s 100 Most Influential People<\/a>. In her tribute piece<\/a>, friend Witherspoon called Griffin \u201ca beacon for women everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Winfrey, when selecting the book, said she was “floored” by Griffin’s story.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat she discovered about herself, about her past made me recognize how powerful the desire to forget is and also how powerful the desire to remember is,\u201d Winfrey said in a video<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Winfrey for comment.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first Oprah\u2019s Book Club controversy<\/p>\n After Winfrey chose James Frey\u2019s memoir<\/a> \u201cA Million Little Pieces\u201d in 2005, its authenticity was called into question. Frey was largely outcast<\/a> from literary fame for lying about parts of his drug addiction, criminal history and time in rehab. Winfrey challenged Frey and his publisher on her show<\/a>, but apologized in 2011 for being too harsh. Despite the pair hugging it out on air<\/a>, Frey told The New York Times<\/a> in an interview published June 8 he hadn\u2019t forgiven her and was still angry.<\/p>\n If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE and\u00a0online.rainn.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY\u2019s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram<\/a>, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter<\/a> or tell her what you\u2019re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.<\/p>\n This story has been updated.<\/p>\n