If there was one thing I agreed with my mother on, it was that one could never be sure about a person’s intentions, no matter how kind that person se… - Peace Adzo Medie

However, when I’m able to think and write about fiction, I very much enjoy it. I began writing fiction for myself when I was about 10 years old, because I ran out of books to read. I discovered that I enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed reading. Therefore, I think the pleasure I get out of writing fiction is what enables me to maintain my momentum and interest—and is the reason I’ve been writing for almost 30 years, even though most of what I’ve written has not been read by anyone.

In the social sciences, we know. . . that our identities matter for our research: They matter for what we research, how we conduct our research, and how we write our findings. In the same way, I think our identities matter for the stories we tell and how we tell them.

Stories serve so many purposes. We need them because they document our truths, they magnify our dreams, they teach, they entertain, they inspire.