The stories we tell ourselves about the past
The concept of narrative captured my interest sometime around 1984 - ironically - because it may have been the Orwell novel with that year's title that prompted my thinking on the topic. I was interested in written narrative and how Winston Smith established his rebellion and then his freedom through a written form (even if it all eventually led to a horrible end). I was also fascinated by his attraction to the paperweight that he purchased - something that was old - and seemingly of unknowable utility. What was the purpose of knowledge, or of the past - except that it all did represent a freedom from the drudgery of the present. So the paperweight meant something to him, just like his writing meant something. Winston told himself a story about the past. He created a narrative. As I am on a precipice of decision regarding our private practice I find myself spinning narratives, perhaps to tell myself a story about the past. I started telling the stories to my wife - maybe to ease