The Safety of Secrets
by DeLauné Michel
Summary
In The Safety of Secrets, DeLauné Michel brilliantly evokes the nostalgic beauty of the Deep South and the dusty glitter of urban Los Angeles. Her ability to portray the intricate texture of people’s lives, her ear for the voices that illuminate the present and the past, and her humorous, yet poignant insights into the intricate bonds of friendship and secrets are at their peak in this enthralling novel. Michel mines the rich theme of the costs of keeping and revealing confidences – ones both innocent and insidious.
Excerpt
Patricia is late as I wait at Geisha Nail Salon on Melrose in West Hollywood for our manicure/pedicure to finally celebrate my birthday that was two months ago. She has been late her whole life, as if the earth should slow down its rotation so everyone else can get on her time. As if the earth had it wrong from the beginning, and her birth marked the start of the new standard time—Patricia Woods Time. Even when I make allowances for her to be late, she is late, so I pick up a magazine from the pile on the chrome and smoked glass coffee table to look at houses and clothes I can’t afford, and wouldn’t buy even if I could afford, thereby feeling deprived and satisfied all at the same time.
It takes me a second to adjust to how Patricia looks when she walks in the door. Fabulous. Coddled. And with a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars a week radiating from her skin. She has looked this way for over a year now, ever since the TV show she is on became the surprise national hit thereby catapulting her income, career, life, and therefore looks into another realm.
Patricia is a hostess/judge on a network TV show called “Sports Giant,” a reality show where ordinary, and I mean ordinary, people compete in a variety of extreme sports, none of which they are the least bit able to do. Most of the show’s appeal (who are we kidding?) is the thrilling possibility that one (or more) of the contestants will seriously wipeout and end up… Well, no one honestly wants that to happen. But then why were the Roman coliseums always so full? However, according to the show’s promos that run ad nauseam, the whole point of “Sports Giant” is for “the common man or woman to test him or herself beyond their limits and find the ‘Sports Giant’ within.” Oh. And when a lucky contestant finally does win, he or she has to scream, “I’m a Sports Giant! I’m a Sports Giant!” over and over while staring straight into the camera. The winners usually accompany that with some sort of physical gesture, like pumping their fists in the air or jumping up and down, which is meant to convey extreme joy and strength, but only serves to show even more clearly how out of shape they are and makes the audience marvel at how this person was able to survive what he or she endured in the first place, while fooling the viewers into believing that they would do better if they ever got on the show which they then try to do.
Reviews
“Almost impossible to put down. a hilarious look at Hollywood, a nuanced portrait of friendship…”--Dani Shapiro, author of Black and White
“Terrifically funny book with a very tender heart… perfect read-all-day book. It stays with you”--Jill A. Davis, author of Ask Again Later
“A beautifully written book… Michel writes with the precision and insight of an x-ray”—Merrill Markoe, author of Walking in Circles Before Lying Down
Author's Biography
DeLauné Michel comes from a literary family including cousins James Lee Burke and Andre Dubus III. She’s worked as an actor in film/television. She’s founding producer of Spoken Interludes, a critically-acclaimed reading series in LA and New York. She’s author of AFTERMATH OF DREAMING and THE SAFETY OF SECRETS.