A Narrative Revolution: Conversations with Steve Gaddis

Steve Gaddis was a highly skilled marriage and family therapist, teacher, and mentor who was captured by narrative therapy ideas early in his training and became one of Narrative’s greatest fans. In 2020, Steve was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. At the time, he was working to complete a book he had been writing for 10 years. Steve’s dream was to share his passion for narrative ideas and practices — and what they can make possible for people’s lives — with everyone and anyone, not just therapists. He founded the Narrative Therapy Initiative in Salem, Massachusetts, which provides trainings in narrative and supports a growing community of narrative practitioners.

In December 2021, it became clear that Steve’s treatments were not working, and that he likely would not finish his book. His dear friend, colleague, and writing partner Sarah Beth Hughes arranged and recorded four conversations between Steve and some of his closest narrative friends and colleagues. In this 4-part series, Steve discusses major themes from his book, and talks about how narrative ideas and practices saved his life — and helped him continue to live a life of joy and purpose after his cancer diagnosis. You will learn about his vision of a Narrative Revolution, of a world where people help each other give problem stories less power, help each other become more clear about what we care about, and help each other create new and preferred stories about ourselves that fit with our values and beliefs.

To learn more about Steve Gaddis or narrative therapy, visit the Narrative Therapy Initiative website at: https://www.narrativetherapyinitiative.org/

To support Steve’s Narrative Revolution, consider making a donation to the Narrative Therapy Initiative: https://www.narrativetherapyinitiative.org/donate/

We would like to thank Will Sherwin for writing and providing the music for this series. Will wrote this song as a tribute to Steve following a 24-hour narrative, global story-a-thon that Steve conceived and produced to bring people together virtually during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

We would also like to thank Will Gaddis for creating the artwork and Laurel Gaddis for helping with production.