Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Jenna Bush Hager looked ecstatic as they stood onstage at the Ford Foundation in Manhattan earlier this year, posing with a new book. The crowd was so large it required an overflow room.
The book was “The Tell,” a memoir by Amy Griffin, a first-time author and one of the wealthiest women in the country. Not only did Ms. Griffin receive the first-ever joint promotion by the three influential book club leaders, but Ms. Winfrey had selected “The Tell” as her 112th book club pick.
In the memoir, Ms. Griffin, 49, writes that she engaged in illegal psychedelic-drug therapy. While under the influence of MDMA, the active chemical in Ecstasy and Molly, she said she recovered memories of being raped on many occasions by a middle-school teacher in Amarillo, Texas, starting when she was 12.
“I knew that these memories were real,” Ms Griffin writes. “My body knew what had happened to me. The way I’d shake when I’d tell my story; the way my eyes welled up with tears at the mention of Texas.”
Ms. Griffin was paid nearly $1 million to write her story, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. The book was an instant sensation, receiving heartfelt endorsements from celebrities and influencers with huge social media followings.
Many of those supporters were Ms. Griffin’s friends, part of a rarefied world where billionaires and celebrities share private planes to remote getaways and display their friendships on Instagram.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post The Billionaire, the Psychedelics and the Best-Selling Memoir appeared first on New York Times.
