Coming Home to Story: Storytelling Beyond Happily Ever After

Geoff Mead's beautifully presented book, Coming Home to Story, delighted me. I didn't expect to be gripped by a non-fiction book that I was reading to help me learn more about Mead's ideas of `narrative leadership'. But the weaving of Mead's personal memoir, with the theory of story telling, and some terrific tales - from various traditions, and ones created by Mead himself - made the book compelling, instructive, and exciting.Mead came to storytelling after retiring as a police officer, a career he had had for 30 years, where he had risen the ranks. His first encounter with storytelling was at a conference on complexity theory and his initial reaction to the oral storytellers he met was that they were `old hippies'. Against his initial negative judgment, he found that the stories they told that evening `caught him'.The book tells Mead's story of becoming a good oral storyteller. He learnt to lose his sense of superiority and be generous with the story. He learnt to bring his own vulnerability and heart into his story telling. He learn to pick the right story. And he learnt the hard way what it was like to be in "narrative wreckage - where the familiar stories we tell ourselves don't make sense any more", when he left his marriage and started to learn who he really was.Mead is convincing that the art of storytelling can have a number of applications. Entertainment is the obvious one, and Mead's book does that well. Along with memoir, there are five re-tellings of traditional stories, including `Jumping Mouse', from the Lakota tribe of North America, (since reading this story in this book, I have started telling it to my children,and it has become a bit of a favourite) and `The Giant with No Heart In His Body' from Norway.The second is healing. Mead gives several examples of how the act of telling a story, or of re-telling someone else's story as a fairy tale, have helped individuals deal with their disconnection from purpose, or their grief. "The self, then, is a kind of telling.... The stories we tell are fateful." He links storytelling explicitly to the arts of psychotherapy and coaching. The chapter, `Hermes in the Gorge', brings this to breathtaking life. Mead describes a true story where he found himself compelled to speak a Rilke poem, one of the Sonnets of Orpheus, to a friend on a walk who, it turned out, was in the middle of a deep spiritual and personal crisis. The words, "Every happiness is the child of a separation it did not think it could survive" had such an effect on her that hearing the poem in that moment, completely changed her life. In her words: "I knew something profound was happening, this was a place of no return, of knowing my truth, no matter how scary."The third is the way Mead has used storytelling for deepening his sense of masculinity, particularly the pleasure of exploring the concept of `the hero' in a community of men who are looking at story together. The telling of his own stories in the book around his father, and his sons, are moving and powerful. The story of his own son Tom, the fourth of his four children, who suffers from a genetic condition called Friedreich's Ataxa that restricts his mobility, is a moving, uplifting description of a family loving each other, fiercely. "Tom is my hero and my greatest teacher in life", says Mead, describing his 25 year old son. "I read somewhere that love does not just break your heart, it breaks it open. There is no love without pain... I am immensely grateful for everything he has brought into my life."Finally he spends a chapter on storytelling and leadership. He argues that stories try to bridge the `system world' of organisations - which are often impersonal - and the `life world' of the whole person, who shows up just a bit at work. He gives examples of where he has used storytelling as a technique to soften the personal dynamics within teams, and to help leaders speak to conferences and their organisations more confidently.There are moments in the book when it seems that Mead has been at a perpetual series of workshops as part of his journey, and this may not appeal to the less personal-development inclined. As someone who came to this book to learn more about leadership, I also wanted the part on storytelling and leadership to be expanded, particularly more reflection on how story can affect the collective, not just the individual story teller or the small team. Hopefully Mead will get the opportunity to do so in future.I would happily recommend this book, particularly for those interested in the role of the storyteller, in improving their own oral storytelling, for those interested in psychotherapy and personal development, and for those who love a good yarn. Mead quotes Michael Berman: "Like the shaman, the storyteller is a walker between the worlds, a mediator between our known world and that of the unknown - someone who communes with dragons, elves, with fairies and angels..." If you want to start expanding your sense of the known world, and venture into the unknown, this book is for you.

This book by Geoff Mead touched my heart and mind very deeply. He beautifully describes how he came to his storytelling art by following inner movements and a deep sense of calling.Geoff weaves in extraordinary stories, sharing the context and meaning at a given moment on his own mythic journey, and then he lets each story stand in its entirety - resonating with it own unique power for the reader. I felt very close to the author as I was reading - particularly recognising and sharing in the intensity of key moments when we saw how his life would change dramatically.This is far more than a book about stories, it is about the transformational nature of a soul journey. There are so many poetic bits of texts - which I tweeted throughout reading - but I love this one in particular for the sheer truth of what it's like to stand on the edge with our passion burning and fear of the unknown:"Whatever calling we follow, there comes a time when our desire outstrips our ability. Then, each of us has to find our own way of dealing with the challenge of facing our lack of competence at doing the very thing we want to do well".

This was highly recommend. A beautifully written book that I have found inspiring. Thank you Il Geoffo.

I have just turned the final page on this wonderful book. Having gobbled it up voraciously I was moved to write this review immediately. The book itself is an enchanting story or a rich and eventful personal journey clearly and courageously conveyed. In the process Geoff Mead entrances the reader with his love of storytelling and conveys wise and generous guidance on how to find your own voice. This is a book that deserves to be widely read. I only discovered at the end that it is the first publication of a new cooperative called Vala. I can only wish them every success in continuing to bring such treasures to the world.

It usually takes me weeks, sometimes months to finish a book. I gobbled this up in three goes. I am now going through writing down phrases, words of wisdom and references I want to remember and follow up. This is a really inspirational book! I think all who read 'Coming Home to Story' will find something of value for themselves in their own journey.Carol ThompsonLaughter Leader and Clowning Facilitator

I found this book an unexpected delight in so many ways. Movingly written, full of life-changing perceptions and ideas, at the same time the printed book itself is a beautiful artefact: with typography, paper and charcoal illustrations that make it a joy to hold. (How refreshing in this age of digital delivery.) But most of all the author's words transport you to a different place: beware! You will not be the same when you finish reading. I keep thinking of more people I'd like to send a copy, at the same time realising it could be a grenade!

Rarely have I read a book which has engaged both my head and my heart in the same way. I burnt the midnight oil last night as I couldn't put down the book which had me quite enchanted. "Coming Home to Story" is no mean feat as Geoff Mead masterfully spins his tale: His book - exquisitely illustrated by Chris Seeley - provides at the same time a very frank and moving account of finding a calling in becoming a professional story teller, a collection of beguiling versions of wonderfully thought-provoking and inspiring stories, and an insightful exploration of the uses stories can be put to in communities and organisations.Petra PingerCoachCologne, Germany