Mara Brock Akil’s New Novel About Betrayal, Shame & Redemption with Oprah
6/30/202649 min
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Mara Brock Akil is one of the most influential storytellers of our time. Best known for iconic television series like Girlfriends, Being Mary Jane and the newest Netflix hit Forever, she continues to capture relatable stories that celebrate women's lives. Now, she's bringing her storytelling to the page with her debut novel, The Revelation of Dionne Daphne. The story follows Dionne Daphne, a successful beauty editor whose carefully curated life begins to unravel after a devastating revelation from her former boyfriend forces her to confront painful truths buried deep in her past. In this conversation with Oprah, Mara dives into the themes woven throughout the novel like overcoming shame, confronting childhood wounds and how returning to the places that broke us can sometimes create a new path forward. She also opens up about why this story was deeply personal and why it's the one she needed to tell now. Plus we hear from readers, including Oprah's daughter-girl Thando, who couldn't put the book down and others who found themselves in the story.
BUY THE BOOK!
The Revelation of Dionne Daphne
https://www.amazon.com/dp/059359777X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
00:00:00 - Welcome Mara Brock Akil, author of The Revelation of Dionne Daphne
00:04:30 - From TV writing to novel
00:05:48 - Mara on who this book is for
00:06:30 - Characters and plot
00:11:20 - Healing through writing
00:12:20 - Confronting abuse
00:18:00 - Mara on coping with her own abuse
00:20:50 - Thando’s reaction
00:24:50 - What we misunderstand about trust
00:30:45 - Message to women who are still silent
00:36:40 - Dionne’s partner
00:39:00 - The power of storytelling
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsOprah Winfrey· Host0:00
Mara Brock Akil is bringing her gift of storytelling to the world of fiction in her debut novel.
Mara Brock Akil· Guest0:07
[squeals] I like when you say it.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:08
[laughs] The debut novel, The Revelation of Dionne Daphne.
Mara Brock Akil· Guest0:13
This young woman is- On the train ... she's on the train, headed outside the city of New York because she's ashamed that she has to take an HIV test.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:21
Mm-hmm.
Mara Brock Akil· Guest0:22
Because two nights prior, her ex of five years tells her, "I have HIV, and you need to go get tested." She has to write down all the names of her lovers, and at the top of the list is her stepfather.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:35
Is her stepfather.
Thando0:36
I was as shocked as, as she was- [laughs] ... if not more.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:39
What is so interesting for me, having been a victim of sexual abuse from a very young age, nine years old, many of you watching- Nine for me, too.
Mara Brock Akil· Guest0:49
Yeah.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:49
Nine years old. Being raped at nine, and then continuously sexually molested over the years by various boyfriends of my mother's, and my cousins, these older men.
Mara Brock Akil· Guest0:59
Mm.
Oprah Winfrey· Host0:59
You, you know, you just said the story is for everybody, but was the story also for you?
Mara Brock Akil· Guest1:04
Oh, absolutely.
Oprah Winfrey· Host1:04
So you have written about it in the books- Mm-hmm ... through Dionne Daphne. Do you mind sharing what actually happened to you?
Mara Brock Akil· Guest1:11
I would share this.
Oprah Winfrey· Host1:14
Hi there, everybody. Thanks for hanging out with us here on the Oprah Podcast today. Television luminary and creator, Mara Brock Akil. She has written, she has produced, she has directed