Write Your Story

Allison Fallon's Write Your Story presents a simple framework for putting the important events of your life into writing and making sense of them. Her premise is that once you understand yourself and your past, you can live with more purpose and confidence.

Fallon observes that many people spend long stretches of life simply reacting, as if the world were telling a story and they were only watching from the sidelines. That passivity can leave a lingering regret and a sense of having missed what life was for. She has guided thousands of people through writing their stories, and she describes how they step back, look at their lives and recognise what they are good at and where they struggle, who has hurt them and who has helped, and what fulfils them and what leaves them empty.

Her method lets you work through your life and capture your whole story in just five pages. It is not designed to teach you how to write a book, though the exercises might lead there. Its aim is self-understanding: knowing who you are, why you matter, how you can help others and how to build resilience in the face of pain.