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Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story
by Christina Baldwin
Product Group: Book
Publisher: New World Library (2005-09-12)
ISBN: 1577314913
EAN: 9781577314912
Dewy Decimal #: 808.06692
Hardcover: 256 pages
SKU: T070651-3887
Condition: Very Good
Comments: Very good overall condition. No writing, very tight binding. Ships same day or next in a bubble mailer. Enjoy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Story is the heart of language. Story moves us to love and hate and can motivate us to change the whole course of our lives. Story can lift us beyond our individual borders to imagine the realities of other people, times, and places. Storytelling - both oral tradition and written word - is the foundation of being human. In this powerful book, Christina Baldwin, one of the visionaries who started the personal writing movement, explores the vital necessity of re-creating a sacred common ground for each other's stories. Each chapter in Storycatcher is carried by a fascinating narrative - about people, family, or community - intertwined with practical instruction about the nature of story, how it works, and how we can practice it in our lives. Whether exploring the personal stories revealed in our private journals, the stories of family legacy, the underlying stories that drive our organizations, or the stories that define our personal identity, Christina's book encourages us all to become storycatchers - and shows us how new stories lay the framework for a new world.
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Customer Reviews
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Storytelling for the 21st Century
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-12-14
The author has reflected deeply on what it means to be a storyteller in the age of the Internet. This book affirms the relevance of the universal to the personal and expands the idea of global consciousness into new and uncharted regions of human history. Many of the references will resonate especially for baby boomers. As a story writer, it gave me much to think about. . .
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A Global Gift
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-09-18
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
As an author, teacher, and concerned world citizen, I am awed by the depth and compassion woven into this highly-readable anecdotal book. Don't let the stories fool you, though. This book will enhance your interactions with others. If we practiced Storycatching, Christina-style, there would be so much more joy and justice in our world.
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A light, an inspiration, a companion...
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-04-13
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
"We are the story-making creatures," says Christina Baldwin, and she goes on to inspire readers to locate, articulate, and celebrate their story-making process. Storycatcher is deeply informed by her rich experience as a writer and a teacher of writing. She weaves personal story into collective story seamlessly and beautifully--pointing the way for writers of all stripes. Whether your interest is essay, memoir, novel, genealogy, short story or poetry, there are prompts a plenty. Above all, this book is a companion--the best kind--wise, kind, honest and fun. What a gift to all readers and writers!
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Refreshing and inspirational- you will look at long lines differently :-)
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-04-09
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I learned of this book through a professor's suggestion and thought that I would put it on a reading list for a later time. Having always been drawn to the power of story, I found myself ordering it and opening the pages earlier than planned. Baldwin's genuine storytelling ability left me smiling throughout the day and hopeful about the benefits story can create in connecting strangers, friends, and enemies alike.
If you've ever sat down at a kitchen table in awe of the stories that are told around it- this book is for you. You will see that storycatching is more than just a pleasurable experience, it has potential to change hearts and minds.
In one section, Baldwin talks about her experience with posing a question about an individual's first memory of coffee while standing in a long line at a coffee shop. The discussion this created was wonderful- so next time you are standing in a long line trying to pass the time, I would encourage you to take her suggestion. Pose a question and you will be amazed at the results.
This is one of the best reads of the year- prepare to be inspired.
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Midwest Book Review - April 2008
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-04-02
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
"Every person is born into life as a blank page - and every person leaves life as a full book" (p. xi). This sentiment from the preface of Christina Baldwin's new book sums up the overall theme of this wonderful look at the power, creativity, and uses of story.
Broken into ten chapters, this book is chock-full of amazing insights. Nearly every page contains at least one nugget of wisdom. Baldwin focuses on how story connects us, the art of storycatching, why we make stories, creating a story of the self, and finding our place in the order of things. Along the way, she addresses healing, the spiritual, power in organizations, personal growth and power, and ever so much more.
This book speaks to the heart and soul of what makes us human: the ability to tell stories, both orally and in writing, and to share wisdom, make sense of our lives, and move through our time on earth with meaning. "Story is a search for community that allows us to share, build, and learn from each other... We choose whether we want to live in hopefulness or despair. Storycatchers choose hopefulness, knowing that story has the power to change our lives" (p. 236).
The writing here is lyrical and sure, her prose evocative. She's annotated it and included a reading group guide. Baldwin writes with a deep knowledge and wisdom most of us can only dream of being able to describe, and she does it with the grace of an angel. This is a book that should become a classic. Highly recommended to readers, writers, thinkers, and dreamers everywhere. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review
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