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Outlook: Secrets and Lies: Family secrets

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Secrets and Lies from Outlook

08/04/2021 GMT

Secrets and Lies: Family secrets

BBC World Service - Outlook, Secrets and Lies: Family secrets

Two very different stories of family secrets exposed

You think you know your family better than anyone? We have two stories from the Outlook archive of people realising that those they're closest to are the biggest mysteries of all.

In episode nine of Outlook's Secrets and Lies series we bring you two extraordinary stories of family secrets unravelled.    

Growing up in California, Rachel Mason and her brother Josh didn't know exactly what was sold in their unassuming and straight-laced parents' bookstore. They had no idea the shop was actually one of the biggest distributors of adult material, specifically gay porn, in the US. The bookshop became a haven for the queer community as Karen and Barry supported gay employees throughout the HIV and Aids crisis in the 1980s, all the while hiding the business from family and friends. Rachel has made a documentary about their story called Circus of Books.

Scottish actor Alan Cumming is the star of Hollywood films like X-Men and the hit TV series The Good Wife, but for him the real drama is in the family secrets that have shaped his life and career.

And if all this sharing of secrets has got you thinking about a story in your own life we'd love to hear it. Write to us, or send a short voice memo to outlook@bbc.com. The secret could be about you or someone you know, or it could just be a fantastic tale you heard. If your story is about someone you know, just make sure they're ok with you telling us about it.

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