Save the Story · Chapter 6 of 10

People who shaped me

the parents, the teachers, the friends, the strangers — the ones who left a mark. Scan a square or tap Record — the paperback stays on the table; the voice stays in the app.

01 · start here
Was there someone in your life who really saw you, when other people didn't?
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02
Tell me about your mother (or whoever held that place in your life) in your own words.
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03
Tell me about your father (or whoever held that place in your life) in your own words.
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04
Was there a sibling, cousin, or near-equivalent who shaped you almost as much as a parent did?
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05
Tell me about a grandparent, or a great-aunt or great-uncle, who left a mark on you.
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06
Was there a teacher you've never quite stopped having a conversation with in your head?
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07
Tell me about a friend who has become family.
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08
Was there a mentor — formal or accidental — who changed your work or your sense of yourself?
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09
Tell me about someone you didn't get along with, who taught you something anyway.
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10
Was there an antagonist in your life — someone who made things genuinely harder?
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11
Tell me about a person you loved who died.
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12
Was there a stranger whose small kindness, on a hard day, you've never forgotten?
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13
Tell me about a friend you've lost contact with, who you still think about.
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14
Was there a person who appeared at exactly the right moment in your life?
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15
Tell me about a child who's been important to you — a niece, nephew, godchild, neighbour's kid, student.
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16
Was there a person whose example showed you how to be in a particular role — partner, parent, leader, friend?
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17
Tell me about a relative you wish you'd known — a great-grandparent, an ancestor, an aunt who died young.
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18
Was there someone who broke your heart — romantically, or otherwise — and shaped how you love?
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19
Tell me about a friend who was funnier than you, or kinder than you, or braver than you — and what they pulled out of you.
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20
Was there a friend or relative whose later-life decline you were close to?
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21
Tell me about a doctor, nurse, therapist, or carer who looked after you well at a vulnerable time.
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22
Was there a colleague who was a particular friend — not a mentor, not a boss, just someone who got you through workdays?
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23
Tell me about a person you've forgiven, even though you weren't sure you could.
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24
Was there a person you couldn't forgive — and have decided not to?
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25
If you could spend one hour with someone who's no longer here, who would it be — and what would you do with that hour?
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26
Looking back, what kind of relationship did you have with your parents, taken as a whole?
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