Spoken Life Review and Healing

Authors

  • Galen Tinder Madison, Wisconsin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69802/pm7az211

Abstract

This article explores how spoken narrative, one person talking to another about his or her life, can help the speaker gain emotional healing. Based on the author’s facilitation of 30 Structured Life Reviews over the past five years, it also describes how the out-loud processing of adversity leads to increased well-being and the adoption of prosocial values. One life review case study is presented in suggesting how the essence of spoken narrative can benefit society at large.

References

Habermas, T., & Bluck, S. (2000). Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126(5), 748–769. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.748

Haight, B. K., & Haight, S. B. (2007). The handbook of structured life review. Health Professions Press.

Laber-Warren, E. (2024, August, 29). A ‘life review’ can be powerful, at any age. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com

Pals, J. L. (2006). Constructing the “springboard effect”: Causal connections, self-making, and growth within the life story. In D. P. McAdams, R. Josselson, & A. Lieblich (Eds.), Identity and story: Creating self in narrative (pp. 175–199). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11414-008

McAdams, D. P. (2011). Narrative identity. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 99–115). Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_5

McAdams, D. P., & Lilgendahl, J. P. (2011). Constructing stories of self-growth: How individual differences in patterns of autobiographical reasoning relate to well-being in midlife. Journal of Personality, 79(2), 391–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00688.x

Pennebaker, J. W., & Smyth, J. M. (2016). Opening up by writing it down: How expressive writing improves health and eases emotional pain (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Turkle, S. (2015). Reclaiming conversation: The power of talk in a digital age. Penguin Press.

Downloads

Published

2025-11-28

Issue

Section

Special Section: Keeping Our Legacy Alive by Honoring the Past and Embracing the Future: Papers From the 2024 Meeting of the International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice | Guest Editor: Theresa C. Chrisman, Ph.D.

How to Cite

Spoken Life Review and Healing. (2025). The International Journal of Reminiscence and Life Review, 11(1), 68-72. https://doi.org/10.69802/pm7az211