Research Reveals the Benefits of Family Storytelling

We've all been there—sitting around the Thanksgiving table while grandma launches into the story about walking three miles to school in the snow. The one you’ve heard a dozen times before.

But these family stories aren't just nostalgia. They're actually medicine for our minds.

Most of us think about preserving family stories as a gift for future generations—something we record for our children and grandchildren to discover years from now. And while that's certainly true, research from Emory University psychologist Robyn Fivush reveals something far more immediate and powerful.

These intergenerational narratives deliver profound psychological benefits to us right now—both to the people telling them and to those listening.

After hearing Fivush discuss her research on The Hidden Brain podcast episode “The Power of Family Stories,” something I'd always felt intuitively suddenly made scientific sense. Family stories, she explains, play a crucial role in our mental health in ways most of us never consider.

Fivush calls them "vicarious memories"—experiences that happened to someone else but become part of our own emotional toolkit. When your grandfather tells you about losing his job during a recession but finding a way forward, or when your aunt shares how she overcame a devastating loss, these aren't just entertaining anecdotes. They're roadmaps that show us how to be resilient in the face of adversity. They remind us who we are and where we come from. They anchor us to something larger than our individual struggles.

So the next time someone in your family starts retelling a familiar story, pay attention. You're not just being polite—you're actually participating in an ancient form of psychological resilience training.

And if you have stories of your own? Tell them. Share them. They're more valuable than you know—not someday, but today.