The Stories We Live By

‘Do what makes you happy.’ ‘Be true to yourself.’ ‘Live free.’ If these slogans promise the good life, why do they so often leave us feeling hollow and empty?
Could the very stories our modern world tells us about happiness, freedom, and identity be the source of our growing anxiety and disillusionment?
The culmination of a journey Michael Keller began with his father, beloved pastor and bestselling author Timothy Keller, before his passing, The Stories We Live By unmasks the hidden cultural narratives that shape our lives, often without our knowledge.
Michael and Timothy Keller examine seven dominant narratives of modern culture – concerning identity, power, freedom, morality, truth, happiness, and progress. The authors show how these stories contain elements of truth yet are built on flawed assumptions and internal contradictions that leave us fragile, divided, and unable to cope with the realities of life.

The Stories We Live By ...helps us:
Recognise where these stories appear throughout culture
Understand why they leave us feeling hollow and unfulfilled
Decode the specific ways these stories hijack our decision-making, and learn how to critically evaluate them going forward
Understand why the Christian story offers a more satisfying answer to our deepest longings
Make sense of both the beauty and the brokenness of the world
Find a hope that can sustain us through suffering, grounded in a story that is bigger than death itself

For the sceptic, this book offers a challenge to examine the unproven beliefs that drive our lives. For the Christian, it is an essential tool for recognizing where we have unknowingly absorbed cultural narratives that conflict with our faith. And for everyone, it is an invitation to discover a story that is big enough to make sense of both the beauty and the brokenness of the world – a story of grace that has the power to carry us through life’s deepest joys and sorrows.

Born from a conversation between a father and son, The Stories We Live By is more than a cultural analysis. It is a guide to finding a truer, more beautiful, and far more satisfying story to live by.