The Stories Demand To Be Told

From the Preface to “Pavel’s Violin” ~

Wherever we look, even if we avert our eyes, the world is continually expanding with the insistent stories of humankind. The stories demand to be told. They yearn to be heard. They are stories of immense courage, dark fears, ecstatic joys, and pains beyond what it is possible to imagine. The telling of our own stories lies at the core of what makes us human. Listening to the stories of others, telling their stories, being willing to be changed by them, lifts us to the heights of what it is possible for humans to become. The retelling of another’s story is an act of healing, a commitment of love, and an affirmation of life. There are stories, often, that are more than the tale of a single person, or even of a people. They have the power to define for us what it means to be human. Such stories must be told, for they have a claim upon the lives of us all. The tale of “Pavel’s Violin” is such a story.