To say that I've become fond of the writing of Kaitlin B. Curtice might be an understatement. More than her writing, which is a transcendent tapestry of vulnerability, wisdom, insight, and revelation, I've become fond of the Kaitlin B. Curtice who has claimed the power of her story and who has, it would seem, learned how to amplify the narratives that serve her best.

It seems almost inevitable that Curtice would author a book such as "Everything Is a Story: Reclaiming the Power of Stories to Heal and Shape Our Lives."

In "Everything Is a Story," Curtice positions herself as a sort of story revealing sage guiding us toward realizing that our stories are more than just our stories - they're alive internally and externally shaping who we are, how we live, how we commune with one another and the world in which we live, and they have both the power to heal and to harm.

If you're expecting a lighthearted, warm and fuzzy literary experience, then I'm guessing you've never read a Kaitlin B. Curtice book. While that may sound like a negative, it's one of many things I appreciate about Curtice's writing. Curtice is more than a storytelling cheerleader here. Curtice dives deeply into the very soul of the narratives that guide our lives to help us identify the toxic narratives hindering our lives and to replace them with narratives grounded in compassion, wholeness, and so much more.

As always, Curtis leans into her Indigenous narratives and brings forth narratives applicable across the spectrum of life. She teaches us how to begin examining our family stories, religion-influenced beliefs, and cultural myths in a way that allows us to sort of, to borrow a term, deconstruct them.

Curtis challenges us to alter our narratives and to ensure the stories that we pass down to future generations are meaningful, healthy, and breaking of negative cycles.

I didn't always "like" "Everything Is a Story." I can't help but think that's the point. If we're truly examining our stories, we're destined to find both the glorious and the godawful. While I've broken many unhealthy cycles in my life, I wouldn't even be close to truthful if I didn't acknowledge that "Everything Is a Story" challenged me, ticked me off a bit, made me squirm, and made me shift. It's that transformative shifting that is so common in Curtice's writing, shifting grounded in coming to recognize those places where we need to grow. Like that wise sage (I'll confess I originally put "wise old sage," but then it dawned on me Curtice might think I'm calling her old. Ha.), Curtice teaches, facilitates, holds space, and then seems to put forth a gentle literary smile by book's end.

"Everything Is a Story" has a meaningful forward from Simran Jeet Singh. Curtice also does something here I did in my own book (Yes, she does it better) - she weaves together contemplative poetry that amplifies her lessons and adds resonance to how these stories unfold.

For fans of Curtice and those struggling with the stories that can so often perpetuate negative cycles and personal harm, "Everything Is a Story" is a call forth to claim our stories and to reclaim the truth of who we are.

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic