Rebecca Solnit discusses how all of us are connected to one another as though we are threads woven into the fabric of the world. Storytelling is an important part of creating this fabric. Every story is a thread that weaves itself into the universal fabric. Solnit points out that we often pretend that stories are givens, things that are true, and that there’s only one way to do something. We tell ourselves stories like: “I’m ugly, I’ll never succeed, nobody loves me…We build these houses out of stories and take up residence in them and they’re invisible to us so that we don’t say: I could be living in a completely different story…We see them as inevitable when we don’t see ourselves as the storyteller of our own story.” Every word, every book, every work of art, everything has a story. Solnit believes that storytelling can lead to positive change in the world. Talking about problems in society, such as violence and discrimination, transforms the problems into stories to be added to the network of threads. She believes that calling things by their true names and bringing them into the open is the way to a better world. “The more visible you make it the less tolerable it is.” But the results can also be negative. Words are powerful, she warns. She says to be careful with our stories and consider the consequences, because they can be wonderful or destructive. She describes her difficult relationship with her mother, finally witnessing her mother’s growing ease as Alzheimer’s took away her stories. Solnit also discusses the concept of giving and receiving, and what it means to be in someone’s debt.