Into adulthood, stories continue to be important and we share them with friends and
family. Some people are better at storytelling
than others. We often hear that so and so is
a “great storyteller.” We use stories to entertain, to teach, to pass on old knowledge. In
certain Native American cultures, stories are
so integral that every question is answered by
a story.
Memory is important to our stories. As we
remember the people, places, and events of
our lives, we create stories to share with oth-
ers. We have our own private memories, and
we are also aware of a more expansive pub-
lic or cultural memory. Memory of this sort
might hover within a family, a local commu-
nity, or a whole nation; it is our shared his-
tory and it, too, prompts the stories that we
tell. Major trauma within a culture, like natu-
ral disasters or human tragedies, becomes
part of our social memory and prompts sto-
ries within a community. As we tell and retell
these stories, we are more likely to heal. The
telling of stories has healing power.
