Finding Truth with Michael

A Memoir of Friendship, Faith, and First Love

By: Darls Centola

Narrated by: Darls Centola

“Darls was my first and only friend outside the family, and I treasured the time we spent together. One of the few girls in our school not in awe of Michael, she treated him as just another kid, which he really appreciated.”— La Toya Jackson, from her autobiography La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family

In 1970s Los Angeles, fourteen-year-old Darls Centola lives between two worlds: the rigid doctrines of Jehovah’s Witnesses and an elite private school where she works in exchange for tuition, surrounded by the children of Hollywood stars. Her life shifts when a quiet, fifteen-year-old Michael Jackson asks if she will study the Bible with him.

What begins as shared spiritual inquiry deepens into something more intimate. In a hidden, eucalyptus-scented sanctuary, they exchange future dreams and fears of Armageddon. As their connection grows, the pressures of belief and expectations close in.

Drawn from Darls’s teenage diaries, Finding Truth with Michael is an intimate story of first connection, spiritual questioning, and the courage it takes to listen to one’s own inner voice.

Includes downloadable photo album and resources.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2026 Darls Centola (P)2026 Darls Centola

Witness to Greatness

All the earnest experiences, mid-70's in Van Nuys and Encino, teenage friendships and adventures, spiritual questing, not just searching but finding truth with LaToya and Michael, you get the feeling you are right there while listening to these highly entertaining stories

I like the yearbook photos and original sketches in the attached pdf, too