\u201cI always knew there was a secret, what I didn’t know, the secret was me.\u201d<\/span><\/i> \u2013 Dani Shapiro, Inheritance<\/span><\/p>\n

Just about everyone in the world has a skeleton or (several) in his or her closet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Secrets\u2026 some buried so deep within, they may never see the light of day. Those who keep them sometimes end up doubting their own mind and feelings, believing instead that the secrets are truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, secrets have a way of increasing in weight, the longer they are kept.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Dani Shapiro, host of the <\/span>Family Secrets<\/span><\/i> podcast, is no stranger to them. <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i>After a lifetime of writing about family secrets, I\u2019ve never understood why\u2026 over the course of nine other books, novels, and memoirs\u2026 I have always gravitated toward and drifted back to the subject of secrets and families\u2014and what happens to families when there’s a secret buried within.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

One of the more shocking secrets in Dani\u2019s own life that she uncovered\u2014and that changed everything\u2014resulted from a DNA test Dani\u2019s husband suggested they take together. Discovering that the man she had called \u201cdad\u201d her whole life really wasn\u2019t her biological father was devastating, and it led Dani on a journey toward the truth. She chronicled that journey in her New York Times bestseller, \u201cInheritance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite being a podcast listener, it wasn\u2019t until Dani had a conversation with her dear friend, mindfulness author Sylvia Boorstein, that the inspiration for one came to her. Recalling, Dani said, <\/span>\u201cSylvia and I had this long phone call, and at some point, she started telling me her own family secret. I was on the other end of the phone thinking, \u2018I wish I could record this!\u2019 I remember wanting to share it, because it’s such a great story, and Sylvia is such a great storyteller. When I got off the phone, I wondered if a podcast about family secrets exists.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Intrigued, Dani quickly scheduled a meeting with two representatives of her publisher, Penguin Random House.<\/span> \u201cI barely even got \u2018I\u2019ve been thinking about this idea for a podcast about family secrets\u2019 out before each of them, in slow motion, reached into their bags and pulled out their phones. I could see how excited they were. Within a few days, they had set up a meeting with a company based in Atlanta called <\/span><\/i>HowStuffWorks<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And just like that, the podcast <\/span>Family Secrets<\/span><\/i> was born!\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The challenge: Dani had always considered herself a writer, so podcasting would be a new skill to learn. <\/span>\u201cIt was a lesson in following my instincts\u2014because I really felt compelled to do it.\u201d<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Produced by IHeart Radio, <\/span>Family Secrets <\/span><\/i>is now in its third season of<\/span> sharing secrets of all kinds, from all kinds\u2014celebrities and listeners alike. With a soothing, empathetic voice, Dani guides her guests through stories that recount the often traumatic and heartbreaking secrets that have had an impact, often striking a note of truth and healing for listeners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coupled with \u201csoundscaping,\u201d<\/span> listeners feel drawn in, part of the conversation taking place in front of a fireplace over a warm cup of tea, against a \u2018backdrop\u2019 of birds singing, doors closing, church bells ringing, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dani gives high praise to her sound engineer, Dylan Fagan, for creating <\/span>\u201ca gentle musical envelope for holding the story and having the right ambience for it to be heard and felt by the listener.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Featuring guests who have been through \u201cthe dark night of the soul,\u201d Dani looks for those who <\/span>\u201chave deeply explored the aftermath and the impact, both psychologically and emotionally, of having had a secret kept from them or having kept a secret.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And there\u2019s no \u201cwinging it,\u201d here.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI go into every interview with a \u2018map\u2019 of the conversation in mind. I usually begin and end with the same questions. I start by asking about the landscape of my guest\u2019s childhood. That generates answers in amazing detail, and it lays the groundwork for the person\u2019s story. And at the end of every episode, I always ask my guest, \u2018Do you wish you hadn’t found out?\u2019 Not a single one has answered, \u2018Yes, I wish I hadn’t known.\u2019 Not one.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Dani also believes that there is a universal theme she\u2019s sharing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe really are more alike than we are different. That’s why <\/span><\/i>Family Secrets<\/span> is resonating as much as it is\u2026 because every family has secrets. If I were to identify one underlying theme throughout almost all of the stories I\u2019ve heard and conversations I\u2019ve had, I\u2019d say it\u2019s that \u2018Where there is secrecy, there’s shame.\u2019 We all have it, and it\u2019s useless and futile.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As Dani shares the secrets that cause that \u201cuseless\u201d shame, she also builds a community of people who were ultimately liberated by the discovery of their secret, like she was.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a painful and world-rocking discovery,\u201d<\/span><\/i> she admitted, <\/span>\u201cbut it also provided me with my sense of solidity about who I am. I didn\u2019t know that I was missing something as bedrock as identity. But once that became clear to me, the lights blinked on. It was like I was wearing the right prescription glasses for the first time in my life! I think my guests share that feeling. So many people come up to me to tell me they listen to <\/span><\/i>Family Secrets<\/span>, or have read <\/span><\/i>Inheritance<\/span>, and feel less alone in the world. That’s an amazing feeling.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May 2020 Issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI always knew there was a secret, what I didn’t know, the secret was me.\u201d \u2013 Dani Shapiro, Inheritance Just about everyone in the world has a skeleton or (several) in his or her closet.\u00a0 Secrets\u2026 some buried so deep within, they may never see the light of day. Those who keep them sometimes end up doubting their own mind and feelings, believing instead that the secrets are truth. The truth is, secrets have a way of increasing in weight, the longer they are kept.\u00a0 Dani Shapiro, host of the Family Secrets podcast, is no stranger to them. \u201cAfter a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":11058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[220,1670,1667,1671,1536,1668,219,1669],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n