Telling A Life

How do you tell the story of your life? Do you focus on meaning, accomplishment and hope — or on failure and loss? Psychologists say telling a good life story can make you happier. But do we also create an inauthentic version of ourselves if we turn everything into a narrative? We explore the idea of life stories, and hear why poet and singer Patti Smith chose to "write about nothing" when writing about her own life. Original Air Date: October 23, 2016 Guests: Timothy Wilson — Charles Monroe-Kane — Galen Strawson — Alissa Quart — Patti Smith Interviews In This Hour: How to Edit Your Life Story — The Terminal Bar: A Tale of Smuggling Money to Post-Communist Prague — The Problem with Life Stories — Alissa Quart On 'Days of Abandonment' and 'Sleepless Nights' — Patti Smith's Mind Train Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

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”To the Best of Our Knowledge” is a Peabody award-winning national public radio show that explores big ideas and beautiful questions. Deep interviews with philosophers, writers, artists, scientists, historians, and others help listeners find new sources of meaning, purpose, and wonder in daily life. Whether it’s about bees, poetry, skin, or psychedelics, every episode is an intimate, sound-rich journey into open-minded, open-hearted conversations. Warm and engaging, TTBOOK helps listeners feel less alone and more connected – to our common humanity and to the world we share. For more from the TTBOOK team, visit us at ttbook.org.