Before I remember writing, I knew I would be a writer.  At age six, I went weekly to the Moberly Public Library in the small Missouri town where I grew up, attended Story Time, checked out books.  I believed all books that could possibly be written were contained in that library.  When I realized my misconceptions, I remember my relief and delight knowing that I, too, might tell a story.

Over the years, I have told stories.  I’ve told them to my students because I know that if you want students to remember a lesson, especially lessons of life, you must tell them stories.  I have written stories too—some successful, some not so much.  BORDERLAND is a novel written over many years.

I like to think of individual storytelling as part of a Grand Narrative, one told by countless folks in myriads of ways throughout human existence.  Storytelling is uniquely human; it has allowed our species to dominate the planet, to shape civilizations, to imagine possible future scenarios for use in decision-making, and it has empowered us to realize what we have imagined. 

I wasn’t wrong in my childhood hunch:  Storytelling IS a powerful force in human existence.
Now, science is beginning to explain why.  Science is clarifying the process and power of storytelling and illustrating the connections between humanities and math and science.  Recent neuroscience tells us that we humans are bombarded with so much data we can only process a tiny fraction of it.  To compensate, we “confabulate” in the words of E. O. Wilson, world-famous entomologist:  we make up stories to tie together disparate tidbits of information stored in little packets in our brains.  Then we communicate these stories, to others.  The most convincing stories dictate what ideas are realized with astounding or devastating results.  Up to now, we’ve been able to come back from the precipice if the results are too dire. 

But currently we find ourselves at a Tipping Point.  Decisions concerning genetic engineering, brain implants, artificial intelligence, the stewardship of our natural resources may prove irreversible.  The importance of the stories we choose to tell and embrace has never been more crucial for our species.