The Stories of Your Life

Featuring an updated introduction from the author.

Every aspect of human behaviour is part of a story – by understanding the stories, you can understand life itself.

Wars, pandemics, Brexit, Elon Musk, the impending doom of our species, the enduring popularity of Ted Lasso – we live in confusing and uncertain times. Won’t someone make it all make sense?

In The Stories of Your Life, bestselling author Ben Ambridge explains that the often-bizarre behaviour of individuals, organizations and even whole countries makes perfect sense, once we understand them in terms of stories. Through generations of storytelling, we have together condensed the human experience into just eight distinct stories. And whether we’re pitching a product, bidding to become president, or simply trying to find love and happiness, we do so by retelling ourselves, and each other, one of these stories.

Using real-life examples, psychological research and our favourite stories, The Stories of Your Life will teach you:

The ‘recipes’ behind these powerful narratives
How the plots of stories like The Lord of the Rings, Ted Lasso and Macbeth follow these recipes
How these same plots play out in real life, from addiction to sporting rivalries and dramatic rescues
The psychological science that explains why these stories are so compelling

A guide to help you understand the world around you, The Stories of Your Life shares fascinating lessons about the nature of humanity, the power of psychology and the way we see ourselves.