Frederick Buechner

Frederick Buechner is the author and narrator of "Telling Secrets." His father committed suicide when Frederick was young. He and his brother and mother moved to a faraway location after his tragic death and never were allowed—by nuanced signals from his controlling mother—to talk about their departed father. It was not until Buechner is in his mid-fifties that he finally confronts the demons created by those long-held secrets.

After living through his daughter's near-death battle with anorexia nervosa, Frederick ironically finds through her healing process that he is sick. He had learned to repress so many of his emotions, but while his daughter was physically starving herself, he gained the realization that he had been emotionally starved for decades. His daughter's illness was one that caused its victim to simultaneously crave freedom, yet plead to be cosseted. Frederick recognizes these same traits in...