ABSTRACT
In earlier chapters, we saw how studying people’s life stories might allow us to understand different styles of narrativity – different ways of telling, living and representing our life stories. We added the important caveat that life stories themselves as a genre are specific to particular historical periods and cultural contexts. We said that focussing on life stories would possibly allow us to scrutinize some of the strategies by which people respond in different ways to life experiences and changing circumstances. Types of stories might then be part of the complex DNA of personal responses to situations. If this is true, then our life story is a lot more than just a story – it might hold a series of crucial clues as to how we act and live. It might help us to understand differences in personal styles, religious beliefs, political affiliations, community allegiances and domestic arrangements. Life stories, then, are a crucial ingredient in what makes us human and, in turn, what kind of human they make us.
