Narrative Project archive

How it began

The narratives that shape our institutions and community life are often just assumed—the way things are. Re-authoring is about questioning dominant narratives and coming together to “take back the pen” and story-telling rights of our own lives.

In the spring of 2020, a pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and a mass shooting in Nova Scotia disrupted dominant narratives. Through the cracks more became visible. We saw inequities, vulnerabilities, and embedded racism and violence. During those same months and continuing into the fall, How We Thrive hosted an online space that invited alternative stories to shine through the cracks—stories that inspired, nourished, challenged and provoked.

This was the beginning of the Narrative Project, which builds on the inspiration and practices of Re-authoring, as developed by Chené Swart and introduced at How We Thrive gatherings in 2018 and 2019.

During the spring and fall of 2020 a team took turns hosting 90-minute online gatherings. We developed a rhythm which included a few minutes of connecting in break-out rooms, story-telling by guests, and then more break-out conversations where we would relate what we heard to our own lives. Then we’d return to the main room and silently write our reflections in the chat. This rhythm of listening and meaning-making became a template which was then adopted by the Gaelic community in Nova Scotia. Read more about the Gaelic Narrative Project.

Archive of stories

To read the summaries and watch the recording from 2020, follow this link…