Why Relationships Matter

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Every story teaches us how to relate, for better or worse.

Enaging with fiction is an enjoyable way to build relational skills, even for people who don’t like self-help.

Novels, films, and series can bring the lessons of research and therapy to life.

Reflection and discussion questions turn enjoyable stories into tools for learning.

Our relationships are the source of some of our greatest joys and deepest pain. When our relationships are thriving, we tend to thrive, and when they’re strained, we suffer. In fact, many of the most pressing problems, not only in our personal lives but also in the larger world, such as interpersonal abuse, war, racism, climate change, and animal exploitation, are driven by dysfunctional ways of relating: to other people, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. So building relational literacy—the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating—can help transform these problems.

Yet the people who most need to build relational literacy are also probably the least likely to pick up a self-help book or go to therapy. They may, however, happily spend an evening engrossed in a novel or bingeing on Netflix.

What if we could build relational skills through reading or watching enjoyable stories?

Every Story Is Teaching Us How to Relate

Stories, whether written or on-screen, teach us things, from how a courtroom........

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