Compelling Confessions is a collection of essays whose shared purpose is to offer an accessible interdisciplinary exploration of the social dynamics behind confessional discourse. As the contributors to this volume demonstrate, confession is ubiquitous in contemporary culture, not only within psychological or therapeutic frameworks or literary analysis, but also in internet discussion groups, in the criminal justice system, in political rhetoric, in so-called "reality" and interview-style television programming, in writing pedagogy and, increasingly, in the testimonial strain observable in contemporary scholarship.