Some things are best kept private, don’t you agree?

And it’s understandable that some folks want to keep things private from their family members for various reasons.

And that brings us to today’s story!

Check out what this woman had to say and see if you think she’s doing anything wrong.

AITA for refusing to share my pen name with my family?

“I (F32) wrote a book during Covid that ultimately got published, and is doing okay.

Nothing life-changing monetarily, I won’t be quitting my day job, but it’s something I’m proud of that I never thought I’d accomplish.

I published the book under a pen name.

My fiancé, his mom, and my best friend have all read the book with my permission, but no one else knows it’s my work.

Shhhh, it’s a secret…

My family (parents and older brother) know that I published a book, but I have not shared the title or my pen name with them. They’ve pushed for the information, but I told them I want to keep it a secret in case I want to write more books under that name.

I told them I want to be able to write without thinking “what will Mom think when she reads xyz?” They never truly accepted this, and it comes up at every family event.

Recently we were together for dinner, and the topic came up again. I wasn’t in the best mood and we’d all had a couple drinks, and my brother had been acting like an *** because his wife wasn’t there to rein him in.

Time to get real.

I admitted that the real reason why I wouldn’t let them read my book was because, when I first tried keeping a diary when I was 6 or 7, my brother (then 9 or 10) would search my room for my diary, find it, and read it. He would mock me for what I’d written.

If his name was mentioned, he would get a black marker and scribble it out. When I went to my parents in tears, they told me it was my fault for writing about him, and he had a right to read it.

They did buy me one of those diaries with a lock for Christmas that year, but then he’d just pick the lock or I’d catch him prying the book open, and he’d never even get reprimanded.

I was treated like a nuisance and a tattletale for bringing it to their attention because he was their precious firstborn prince. He would be emboldened and would continue to torment me.

I stopped keeping diaries because it wasn’t worth giving him ammunition.

Things blew up.

They blew up when I revealed this and told me I was being a baby and needed to get over it, and it never even was a big deal.

I told them that it basically gave me a complex where I’m overprotective of my writing, and I have a hard time sharing it because I feel like I’m going to be mocked and ridiculed for it.

They told me I was being so dramatic and that I always do this.

AITA for refusing to share my pen name with them?”

Take a look at how Reddit users reacted.

This person shared their thoughts.

Another individual said she’s NTA.

One person made a good point.

This Reddit user was going to say she was an *******, but…

Sorry, none of your business!

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.