The Stories of Our Lives

How the stories we tell about ourselves and others shape who we are

Have Kids Run Out of Resilience?

Helping young people create stories of ways in which they have successfully faced adversity builds resilience.

Storytelling Is Good for Us and Our Bodies

Shared storytelling lowers cortisol, raises oxytocin, helps us manage stress, and increases empathy, according to new research.

Remembering Pandemic Time

Those who are able to process and narrate pandemic experiences in more reflective and elaborated detail, may emerge from pandemic life with resilience and self-understanding.

Women Are the Keepers of Family Stories

From the story of their birth on, girls and women tell and keep stories differently than boys and men.

Exchanging Stories Builds Respect

Perhaps it is time for us to sit down with someone with whom we may disagree and share some stories.

The Gift of Family Stories

This holiday season, give yourself and your loved ones the gift of stories.

Breaking Zoom Borders Through Stories This Holiday Season

This holiday season, we may have to be in our individual Zoom rooms, but we can still create something meaningful, and sustaining through family stories.

How Stories Create Hope

When children learn stories of hope from their families, they can connect to larger stories. And, then, they can change the world.

How College Students Are Telling Their Stories of COVID-19

Stories from the past can help the young generation understand that the present does not define them but, rather, their future stories are still to be written.

Listening to Stories: The Power of Story Circles

Telling your story is an important skill; listening to others’ stories is a lifelong process of understanding yourself and others.

Why We Need Stories More Than Ever

Our stories help us make sense of our lives, give us hope that we will sustain and overcome, and help us predict a better future.

Why I Am Optimistic This Graduation Season

I don’t know what the future will bring. But this I do know: If the world is in the hands of today’s students, I am optimistic.

How Family Stories Help Us Cope

What do family stories have to do with keeping safe today and tomorrow? You might be surprised.

Family Storytelling for the Holidays

Storytelling is an important and meaningful family tradition, especially around the holidays. How do we tell stories that matter?

What Stories Will You Leave as Your Family Legacy?

If your children only knew one or two stories about your life, what stories would you want those to be and why?

Sharenting, or Sharing Stories

When parents post about their children on social media, they create a narrative identity for their child. But whose identity is it?

The Story of a Book

Exploring how identities are created and understood through family storytelling.

Graduation Season Again: Time to Tell Stories

As we each mark transitions, both academic and personal, the power of stories to create communities and empower students is more important than ever

Finding Solace Through Stories

Remembering our loved ones through stories helps us heal and bonds our families and friends together in times of grief.

Parents Ought to Share Their Challenging Experiences

Adolescents who know stories about their parents’ teenage difficulties and challenges show higher self-esteem and resilience.

Family Disputes About Memories

Open and validating conversations about disputed family experiences can be an important part of the healing process.

Celebrate Graduation! Booster Shots Advised!

A "booster shot" of self-affirmation at the start of the academic year can have amazing effects on student accomplishment.

The Best Mothers’ Day Gift

This Mother’s Day, honor all your mothers by asking for their stories. Asking for their stories is your gift to them; sharing their stories is their gift to you.

Cultural stories provide roots for growth

Marcus Garvey said “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

Why Do Only Famous People Have Biographies?

Family stories bind us together and define who we are as a family. Whether you are 7 or 70, it is never too early or too late to start sharing family stories.