"In Yemen in 1920 ... Adela Damari's parents desperately seek a future husband for their young daughter. After passage of the Orphan's Decree, any unbetrothed Jewish child left orphaned will be instantly adopted by the local Muslim community. With her parents' health failing, and no spousal prospects in sight, Adela's situation looks dire until her uncle arrives from a faraway city, bringing with him a cousin and aunt who introduce Adela to the powerful rituals of henna tattooing"--Amazon.com.

On August 18, 1951, in Barbados, my mother, Clara Carter, gave birth to me, Doris Carter, and my twin sister, Dorothy. Dorothy, who was head of records of the United States was the family secret. My mother gave Dorothy away when she was born so I never knew her, but she always knew about me. In my early thirties, I moved to Montreal, Canada, where I won the lottery for five hundred thousand dollars. My sister, Dorothy Allen, who was living in New York City at the time found out about my winnings and made her way out to Montreal, Canada. After going through hell and back with my estranged husband to get the ticket from him, I couldn't even cash in the lotto ticket. I was told that according to their records, I had died on the seventh of April, and they had the death certificate to prove it. Turns out that my twin sister, Dorothy, and my ex–sister-in-law, Angela Smith, along with a lawyer by the name of Albert Gomberg committed a federal crime and filed the certificate, and a doctor from Montreal General Hospital signed off on it. Question, what would you do in my position? When your back is against the wall and you don't know who you can trust, not even your own lover? Follow me through all the crazy twists, turns, and evil ways family can betray you.

What you don't know can hurt you— but it can also lead to self-acceptance and healing. Family Secrets gives you the tools you need to understand your family—and yourself—in an entirely new way. In his bestselling books and compelling PBS specials, John Bradshaw has transformed our understanding of how we are shaped by our families. Now join him on this fascinating journey of discovery, which starts with your life today and takes you back through the conflicts, the strengths, and the weaknesses of your parents’ generation—and even your grandparents’. Using a powerful technique for exploring your “family tree,” you’ll trace the visible and invisible patterns that have influenced you. You’ll learn about family secrets that are healthy and necessary, and also about the secrets that can limit your wholeness and freedom—even if you don’t know they exist. This work is sometimes painful, but it is always enlightening—filled with the kind of “aha” moments and realizations that make everything fall into place. With John Bradshaw’s guidance, you will come to a new appreciation and acceptance of yourself. You will also be able to build more open, honest, and loving relationships with the people who matter most.

Althea Bell is still heartbroken by her mother's tragic, premature death--and tormented by the last, frantic words she whispered into young Althea's ear: Wait for her. For the honeysuckle girl. She'll find you, I think, but if she doesn't, you find her. Adrift ever since, Althea is now fresh out of rehab and returning to her family home in Mobile, Alabama, determined to reconnect with her estranged, ailing father. While Althea doesn't expect him, or her politically ambitious brother, to welcome her with open arms, she's not prepared for the chilling revelation of a grim, long-buried family secret. Fragile and desperate, Althea escapes with an old flame to uncover the truth about her lineage. Drawn deeper into her ancestors' lives, Althea begins to unearth their disturbing history...and the part she's meant to play in it. Gripping and visceral, this unforgettable debut delves straight into the heart of dark family secrets and into one woman's emotional journey to save herself from a sinister inheritance.

Named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best of 2021 List in Comics. 2021 Top of the List Graphic Novel Pick In the spirit of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Margaret Kimball’s AND NOW I SPILL THE FAMILY SECRETS begins in the aftermath of a tragedy. In 1988, when Kimball is only four years old, her mother attempts suicide on Mother’s Day—and this becomes one of many things Kimball’s family never speaks about. As she searches for answers nearly thirty years later, Kimball embarks on a thrilling visual journey into the secrets her family has kept for decades. Using old diary entries, hospital records, home videos, and other archives, Margaret pieces together a narrative map of her childhood—her mother’s bipolar disorder, her grandmother’s institutionalization, and her brother’s increasing struggles—in an attempt to understand what no one likes to talk about: the fractures in her family. Both a coming-of-age story about family dysfunction and a reflection on mental health, AND NOW I SPILL THE FAMILY SECRETS is funny, poignant, and deeply inspiring in its portrayal of what drives a family apart and what keeps them together.

What really happened to Mother? Lauren has come home seven years after her famous mother's mysterious drowning. They said it was an accident, but the tabloids screamed murder. Her father, a senator, hadn't protected her. Aunt Jule was her only refuge, the beloved godmother she's returning to see. Lauren stops at Wisteria's annual street festival and meets Nick, a tease, a flirt, and a childhood playmate. The day is almost perfect -- until she realizes she's being watched. Arriving at Aunt Jule's, Lauren is shocked at the decay of the riverfront home. Aunt Jule seems angry and defensive, even as she fusses over Lauren at her daughter Holly's expense. Nora, Jule's other daughter, is silent and spooky, and stares at Lauren with frightening intensity. Meanwhile, Nick has acted as if he wants to be more than Lauren's friend. So why is he suddenly glued to Holly and almost hostile to Lauren? How can she trust him -- especially now that a series of nasty "accidents" makes Lauren realize that somebody wants her dead? This time, there's no place to run.

Painting a vivid picture of the pivotal case that broke apart a Chicago mob family, this narrative relies on court transcripts, police records, interviews, and notes to recreate the story as it unfolded in a 2007 courtroom.