Parenting in a Changing Climate: Tools for Cultivating Resilience, Taking Action, and Practicing Hope in the Face of Climate Change

by Elizabeth Bechard

Storytelling is also a way of shaping and changing culture. In an essay called “Harnessing Cultural Power” in All We Can Save, artist and social justice organizer Favianna Rodriguez calls readers to embrace diverse, creative storytelling as an avenue for social and environmental change: “The power of culture lies in the power of story,” Rodriguez writes. “Stories change and activate people, and people have the power to change norms, cultural practices, and systems. Stories are like individual stars… When many stars coalesce around similar themes, they form a narrative constellation that can disrupt business as usual. They reveal patterns and help illuminate that which was once obscured. The powerful shine in one story can inspire other stories. We need more transformational stories so that we can connect the dots and shift narratives.”