Family Secrets

Family Secrets

Family Secrets. We all have them. And while the discovery of family secrets can initially be terrifying or traumatic, often these discoveries have the power to liberate, heal, and even uplift us. Join Dani Shapiro, bestselling author of the memoir Inheritance, and her guests as they explore astonishing family secrets and uncover the extraordinary lessons the truth can teach us.

Episodes

June 1, 2023 56 mins

Emi is a brilliant child caught in the storms of the adults around her. As such, her own troubles begin to brew and her secrets compound. From foster care to homelessness to an Ivy League education and robust career, Emi’s trajectory is an extraordinary lesson in what is possible when resilience wins the day.

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Allison knows something is fundamentally different about her. She looks different and she feels different from the other girls in school. But when her parents refuse to acknowledge just how different she is, it becomes harder and harder for her to reckon with who she is, and who she wants to become.

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May 18, 2023 42 mins

Forever punctuated by shame, secrecy, and danger, Isaac's search to know himself has always been a precarious journey. But as he walks the rocky road toward self-acceptance, he must reconcile his need to be both strong and vulnerable.

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May 11, 2023 33 mins

From a very young age, Sophia is taught to deflect when people ask questions. Her parents teach her this lesson, and they tell her to keep a low profile as an American living abroad. When she finds a letter she’s not supposed to read, she learns what her parents do for a living – and that changes everything.

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May 4, 2023 52 mins

Growing up among conflicting cultures and customs, Carmen feels a profound sense of otherness. When her mother reveals their family secret, Carmen’s conflicts deepen and the puzzle pieces of her identity scatter before eventually— they finally snap into place.

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April 27, 2023 3 mins

Join us starting May 4th for 10 new stories of tenacity, resilience, and the profoundly necessary excavation of long-held family secrets.

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April 20, 2023 67 mins

In this special bonus episode, the tables are turned as veteran journalist and podcast host Kimi Culp interviews Dani about her own family history and the secret at its core.

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March 30, 2023 18 mins

Stories from our friends at The Secrets Hotline Podcast, hosted by Nick van der Kolk.

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March 16, 2023 25 mins

In this bonus episode, Dani speaks with renowned physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté about his new book,The Myth of Normal, and the ways in which we can begin to heal from our wounds and traumas.

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February 23, 2023 7 mins

In this bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets.

Mark your calendars for the launch of season 8 on May 4th.

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January 19, 2023 7 mins

In this bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets.

Mark your calendars for the launch of season 8 on May 4th.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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November 24, 2022 2 mins

Dani shares a message this Thanksgiving with the Family Secrets community.

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November 3, 2022 44 mins

When Judy receives a thick envelope from her father—presumably including answers to long kept secrets about his identity and past—he instructs her to burn it before opening. Despite her plaguing curiosity, she follows her father’s wishes. But later in her life, she seeks answers. What was in that envelope? And who was her father, really?

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October 27, 2022 41 mins

As Tad reckons with the choices he’s made in his relationships—most prominently, in his marriage—he must confront the choices made by his father, too. And his grandmother. In uncovering staggering truths, he finds his own struggles with intimacy are part of a long string of inherited secrecy.

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Meyli Chapin shares her story and discusses PTSD with host Kimi Culp.

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October 20, 2022 59 mins

Fraidy is raised in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community where she is forced to follow many conventions including an arranged marriage in her teens. After enduring emotional and physical abuse, Fraidy is determined to figure out a way to save herself, her children, and many, many others.

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October 13, 2022 48 mins

We all know—or think we know—the wonderful journalist, news anchor, and bestselling author, Katie Couric. But behind and beyond her camera-ready exterior is the interior world of a very real individual— a daughter, sister, wife, and mother navigating the complexities of a public life.

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October 6, 2022 41 mins

After Mark’s divorce, he cannot eat or sleep or function. Hesitant to pathologize these feelings, he finally acknowledges the clinical magnitude of his condition. But even after accepting that he’s suffering from depression, he keeps it under wraps; he runs a residential treatment center for homeless teens where he feels he must keep up appearances.

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The opening chapter of SIGNAL FIRES is shared here, in Dani's voice, for the very first time. 

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September 29, 2022 49 mins

Ashley’s father is imprisoned when she’s eight months old. She has no real context for him until she visits him for the first time, when she’s seven. They forge as best a relationship they can, writing letters, and talking on the phone. It’s not until she’s fourteen when she discovers why he’s in jail. What she learns is shattering and confirms to her that the world is not always a safe place.

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