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

August 14, 2025 37 mins

Author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin joins Dani to talk about aphorisms and family secrets.

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Updates, Workshops, and Special Guests!

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July 31, 2025 80 mins

A ninety-year old father and his youngest daughter come together to unpack a secret that altered—and ultimately made sense of— the shape of each of their lives.

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July 24, 2025 57 mins

Not every member of a family is told the same story. Elissa wrestles with the necessity of claiming her voice, even as telling her own singular truth may exact a painful price.

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July 17, 2025 47 mins

A box of letters. A hidden life. A history rewritten. Susan must reckon with how to move forward—how to be a daughter, a sister, a mother—after so much staggering change.

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July 10, 2025 57 mins

As E.A. takes to the road on a route once taken with her mother, she must confront the stories we inherit, the ones we choose to tell, and the one’s we don’t.

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July 3, 2025 43 mins

What does it mean to be a family of one? Steven examines his search for belonging in the wake of disappearance, loss, and profound mystery.

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Marian’s body knows something her brain does not. It takes years before she finally has the language to define herself. To be herself. 

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June 19, 2025 73 mins

Erin grows up in and around violence and anger. But nothing could have prepared her for the tragic discovery she makes at age twenty-seven.

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June 12, 2025 50 mins

Through the dual lens of a devoted sister and parent, Julie explores the emotional terrain of family illness and secrecy, puzzling over how she can care for others without losing herself entirely.

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June 5, 2025 47 mins

As Sarah navigates the world as an artist and writer, she must confront the genetic history—its myriad patterns and traumas—at the heart of her story, her very self.

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May 29, 2025 50 mins

Brando’s father is an American Indian incarcerated political activist. Or is he? His mother tells a lot of stories. It’s almost impossible to know what’s true and what isn’t.

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May 22, 2025 2 mins

We're back with a new season of extraordinary stories. Join us next Thursday, My 29th for the premiere of Family Secrets Season 12.

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March 6, 2025 1 min

 Catching up with our Family Secrets family.

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January 9, 2025 32 mins

Griffin grew up in a family whose illustrious life defined them. But beneath their fame were the secrets that shaped his world.

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January 2, 2025 44 mins

At the age of sixteen, Jill began a relationship that lasted most of her life with her much-older professor. Twenty-five years ago, she wrote a memoir. But with time comes new memories, new clarity. She’s realized something: it's time to tell the story again, and differently.

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December 26, 2024 54 mins

In her quest for answers about her biological mother in South Korea, Tracy finds more—and in some ways, less—than what she’s bargained for.

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December 19, 2024 58 mins

When Sacha looks back to her childhood, she sees the branches of a gnarled and tangled family tree. But through art, reflection, storytelling – and just the right therapy – she finally begins to pry the pieces apart. 

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December 12, 2024 56 mins

Growing up in Ahmedabad, one of India’s fastest-growing cities in the early 2000s, Zara’s world ignited –both literally and figuratively.

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December 5, 2024 36 mins

When Garth was growing up, he managed to hide his struggles from his parents. But when Garth becomes a parent himself, he must decide when—and if, at all—to come out of hiding.

 

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