Story Work - by Gg Renee Hill (Paperback)

About the Book

In Story Work, GG Renee Hill uses prompting questions to pen the raw material of her own life: an upbringing raised by a mother with schizophrenia, and a lifetime of authorities trying to minimize that impact. She invites readers to recognize that the stories we tell ourselves are part of a larger, unfinished narrative to continually contemplate.

Book Synopsis

A guide to understanding the stories we tell ourselves and the actions needed to reclaim power over our narrative.

We absorb the world around us through stories. It's how we make sense of our surroundings, our communities, and ourselves. There's often truth and validity in these stories. But the stories we tell ourselves are not an end-all, be-all. Instead, they're all part of a larger, ongoing, unfinished narrative--one that we must continually refresh, expand, and contemplate to stay soft and open-hearted.

Here's the thing: we can choose to keep these stories open to possibility and imagination--or we can choose to keep them closed. That's where Story Work comes in. Through essays and prompting questions, GG Renee Hill invites readers to breathe new life into the stories we carry. She leads by example, by penning the raw material of her own life: an upbringing raised by a mother with schizophrenia, and a lifetime of internal and external forces trying to minimize that impact. It was a long, old, heavy story Hill silently carried with her--the powerless girl who lost her voice in the wreckage of her mother's condition -- until she turned to writing and began to change the meaning she'd assigned to her experiences. And she doesn't stop there. Hill invites readers to the transformative practice of creative self-discovery through storytelling -- treating our life experiences as creative material that we have the power to shape. For the person searching, Story Work is the answer that enables us to live with an open-hearted curiosity--one that both fuels and grounds us.

Review Quotes

"Story Work is a beautiful guide for turning pain into power; into story. GG Renee Hill empowers us into self-discovery, reminding us that we can use our barriers as fuel for transformation. With poignant stories of life with her mother as an engine, Hill illuminates the room: We can reclaim our voices and shape our own paths." --Chelene Knight, author of Let It Go: Free Yourself from Old Beliefs and Find a New Path to Joy, and Safekeeping: A Writer's Guided Journal for Launching a Book with Love

"With her vivid and vulnerable writing, GG Renee Hill gently guides us to our own inner sage. By sharing her own story of how writing led her back to herself, Hill offers generous and insight-inspiring journal prompts that give us permission to do the same. A treasure of a book." --Karen Walrond, author of The Lightmaker's Manifesto, Radiant Rebellion, and In Defense of Dabbling

"GG Renee Hill's vulnerability is both courageous and contagious. She shows us how we can all cast off the burden of shame by spilling our secrets onto the page, wrapping our wounds in words, and finding healing in the power of storytelling." --Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of See Jane Write and author of Find Your Way Back: How to Write Your Way Through Anything

"In this heartfelt and deeply personal book, GG Renee Hill offers invaluable strategies for transforming pain into power. A must-read for anyone seeking to reclaim their strength and heal the wounds of past trauma." --Monique Rainford-Bourne, MD, MBA, author of Pregnant While Black: Advancing Justice for Maternal Health in America

"In Story Work, GG Renee Hill does more than teach the art of storytelling; she embodies it. With raw honesty and heartfelt reflection, she models the very method of story work she invites you to explore. With intimate personal narratives, carefully crafted reflection questions, and guided exercises, this book is not just something you read--it's something you experience. Bringing intention and care, GG Renee Hill gently moves alongside you, helping you uncover, shape, and honor your stories. I paused in each chapter to breathe in its beauty, depth, and invitation to step more fully into my story. Whether you are a writer, an artist, an activist, or someone longing to understand yourself more deeply, this book is a gift. Those who journey through its pages will not only witness the power of storytelling--they will emerge transformed by it." --Cierra Kaler-Jones, storyteller, teaching artist, cultural organizer, and director of Unlock Your Story

"Story Work is a book anyone who has ever felt like an outlier can count on to feel seen and understood. Hill's poignant perspective around the possibility that awaits on the other side of telling our stories is a liberating message of second chances and new beginnings. Gentle, thoughtful, and relatable, her stories are honest and vulnerable as Hill crystalizes what it means to reframe your past and your path--without judgment and with deep care." --Chloe Dulce Louvouezo, storyteller, creative strategist, author of Life, I Swear: Intimate Stories from Black Women on Identity, Healing, and Self-Trust