Every family has its secrets, but it's how those secrets are dealt with that determines the power they hold.

In Part 1, the Sugars consider the implications of keeping a secret within a family system. They take a letter from a woman who, since her early teens, has kept a dark and powerful secret from her mother about her stepfather.

The Sugars are joined by the writer Kathryn Harrison, who, in her memoir "The Kiss," dared to share a family secret that nearly destroyed her. Harrison recently published a collection of essays, "True Crimes: A Family Album," that explores the broader issues of this series: family secrets held and revealed.

New episodes of Dear Sugar Radio are released weekly.