The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life ― Tales from the Coffee Shop

Our everyday lives are enmeshed in storytelling: the stories we tell about our memories, the people we know, and the world we inhabit; those we tell about our families and communities; and the narratives we encounter in books, movies, and television. Narrative structures how we view ourselves and everything around us.

In The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life, William L. Randall shows how concepts central to the study of narrative psychology--such as narrative development and the interrelation between narrative and identity, cognition, and development--are integral to everyday life. He makes the case that all people function as narrative psychologists by continually storying their lives in memory and imagination, as well as speculating on the stories that others may be living, a process that Randall refers to as storyotyping.

Relying heavily on narrative, Randall draws from experiences in his own life to illustrate various concepts in narrative psychology. His inquiry leads him to the topics of gossip, rumor, and the narrative complexity of nostalgia. In doing so, he makes the case that all people function as narrative psychologists by continually storying - or, cementing - their lives in memory and imagination, a process Randall refers to as "storyotyping".

William L. Randall is Professor of Gerontology at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Brought up in rural New Brunswick, he studied at Harvard, Cambridge Princeton Seminary, and the University of Toronto. Prior to entering academic life, he served for ten years as a minister with the United Church of Canada. Since then he has authored, co-authored, or co-edited 5 books and written 35 articles and chapters on topics related to narrative and aging. He is the principal organizer of the international conference Narrative Matters and is co-editor of the journal Narrative Works: Issues, Investigations, Interventions.