Maybe it’s a sign of getting older, of having strong feelings of nostalgia. Maybe it’s a reaction to the breakneck pace of our internet age and Twitter-intoxicated world. For whatever reason, I find myself looking back at thinkers from the recent past in order to navigate the challenges we face today. For example, I read a review of essays from the World War II-era political scientist Hannah Arendt. As a Jewish thinker and activist, she fled Germany in 1933, landing first in France and later in the United States, where she became a citizen in 1951 and scholar until her death in 1975. She knew firsthand about totalitarian states and tyrants. I find that her words offer a compelling message for us today.  Read More

“Narrative psychology” is a fancy term for something that all of us do. We all think about the “story of our lives.” We gather at family reunions and tell stories about growing up; we sit together with friends and talk about times gone by; we laugh at dinner tables with our children remembering what it was like when all of us were younger. Telling the story of our lives helps us make sense of our lives. It helps us put things in perspective regarding days long past. And it can give us guidance as to where we are heading in the days yet to come.  Read More