Peril American writer recalled in shock — diary’s contents erased (8)
I believe the answer is:
jeopardy
'peril' is the definition.
('jeopardy' can be a synonym of 'peril')
'american writer recalled in shock diary's contents erased' is the wordplay.
'american writer' becomes 'poe' (Edgar Allan Poe).
'recalled' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'shock' becomes 'jar' (I've seen this in other clues).
'contents erased' suggests removing the centre (the letters on the inside of the word are erased).
'diary' with its middle removed is 'dy'.
'poe' written backwards gives 'eop'.
'eop' inserted inside 'jar' is 'jeopar'.
'jeopar'+'dy'='JEOPARDY'
(Other definitions for jeopardy that I've seen before include "Danger of injury, loss, death, etc" , "Personal danger" , "See 15" , "Danger of harm" , "Hazard, risk" .)