Part 2: Family secrets: when, if ever, is it time to divulge the truth?

This blog is the second of a two-parter, exploring the question of when it’s proper to reveal a family secret. This discussion arises from my novel, White Thaw: The Helheim Conspiracy, where a family secret propels the plot.

In Part 1, I laid out two scenarios and asked that you decide what to do. In my mind, the following dilemma is actually the most difficult of the three.

Hypothetical #3: Again, you are the eldest of three children. When you are twelve years old, your brother is eight and your baby sister six years old. One evening, while your parents are away, and you are babysitting, you play with matches, start a fire, and burn the house down. As the three of you are sitting on the curb watching the fireman battle the blaze, and you await your fate, your parents drive up. Initially relieved that their children survived the fire, they then ask how it happened. To your astonishment, your sister, who always had a vivid imagination, blabbers that she is responsible; although both she and your brother were sleeping at the time, she says that she had earlier been playing in the kitchen, turning the gas burners on the stove on and off. In her mind, she’s convinced she started the fire. Significantly relieved by the good fortune that has come your way, you let the story stand. From then on, your sister is known as the one who burned down the house.

Later in life, you realize how cruel you were not to have admitted the truth. But, because relations between you and your siblings are good, you agonize over telling your sister (and your family) the truth. Would it not be better to leave sleeping dogs lie?  What do you do?

My thoughts: For me, this is the most difficult of the three scenarios. On one hand, if you tell, you might alter or, conceivably ruin, your relations with not only your sister but the rest of your family. At the least, everyone would have a lower opinion of you. On the other hand, leaving your sister think that she was responsible for the accident would surely add to your negative tally should you ever approach the pearly gates.

It’s not difficult imagining thousands of situations like the above occurring within our society. Humans make mistakes and then try to cover them up (good examples are easy to find in the evening news). Should any of us find ourselves in situations like the above, we can only hope that we do the right thing. The problem is that the “right thing” may be open to interpretation.

Linda Kipling’s father decided, literally at the last minute, that he needed to reveal a secret. In my story, this decision is the correct one because his daughter is then able to thwart an environment disaster. As an author of fiction, I can make sure that things work out for the best. In real life, it’s not so easy to predict the outcome.

Addendum: My wife makes a good point. Our parents’ and grandparents’ generation was much more secretive than today’s. I can still remember as a child how a divorce was something not discussed. Whether it be a gay person coming out of the closet or an adopted child searching for his or her roots, the youth of today seem more open to divulging situations that in times past were kept secret. I think this is a good thing.

Categorised in: White Thaw

This post was written by paulmarktag01