Recovering Our Storytelling Superpower
Curtis and Nancy French explore the power of storytelling in everyday life. Nancy, a professional storyteller and New York Times best-selling author, urges listeners to “read” the stories of their own lives – in order to see how the ultimate Author of their stories (God) has shaped their destinies. Curtis and Nancy also encourage people to inhabit other peoples’ stories and to interview family members, such as parents, to more clearly see the context of their “origin stories.”
SHOW NOTES:
Penzu online journal
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Thank you both very much for an insightful podcast. My mother (92) and father-in-law (96) have much to offer although it is increasingly difficult to extract their stories – so I’m hoping your “100 Questions” will help me and my wife as we attempt to obtain as much of their stories as possible in the time we have with them.
Allan
I listened to this episode as I was on the 2-hour drive from Charlotte, NC to the rural SC farm community where my elderly parents, in their 80s, still live in the small farmhouse they have called home for 55 years. This episode gave me nuggets to start a good dinner discussion. Thank you!
I’m already a subscriber.
How can I access the 100 questions?
Hi Laurel, you can email us at info@redeemingbabel.org. The 100 Questions will also be included in the subscriber newsletter that will be sent this week.
Laurel, thanks for asking and Aryana thanks for answering! I want to answer the questions for my grandchildren before I die. Best to you both.
Excellent podcast episode! This is the one that finally pushed me over the edge to subscribe to Redeeming Babel. 🙂
The conversation about dinner parties reminded me of the book The Art of Gathering. Highly recommend!
The Art of Gathering is precisely what inspired us to do that dinner party!
I laughed and cried, as I seem to do for each episode, but this one in particular hit me. My first child was born in 2003, and I hemorrhaged half my blood in an extremely traumatic birth. EMDR therapy and good counseling helped me heal, and I chronicled my neurotic, herculean struggle to breastfeed in an unfinished essay called–wait for it–Nipple Confusion.
Thank you for answering God’s call to create community for the spiritually homeless, the Elijahs who need a nap and a snack, and the reminder that they are far from alone.
The world needs more stories about Nipple Confusion!
I think I needed to hear this this week. I have felt “stuck” in many ways–not sure if I want to stay where I am, if I *am* ambitious. Just frustrated with where things are. Encountering this the same week I’m reading N.T. Wright (whose constant refrain is basically: “the Bible is a STORY–it’s the story of his interaction with His people, and the New Testament is its stunning twist-yet-prepared-for-conclusion”) is a bit of a Lenten log-jam breaker: the arc of my story isn’t complete yet either. Sometimes you’re just in the chapters where “and then several years passed.”
Yes – love your point about “and then several years passed.”
I loved the show today for two reasons, among others. First, I’ve been asked to ghostwrite somebody’s story, and the things that were said about that, including the idea of co-writing, which I like, we’re very helpful. I’ll have the person who’s wants me to ghostwrite listen to this podcast. Second, thank you for the 100 questions to interview family with. Such a blessing! 😁
Thanks for listening Dale!
I loved this episode. I loved the distinction between the Disneyworld story and the ceiling fan story. I also loved Curtis’ prayerful hope at the end that the leaders of Camp Kanakuk could repent, release all NDA’s, and allow all victims to tell their stories, and how healing that would be for one and all.