The Atlantic previousnext story Life's Stories How you arrange the plot points of your life into a narrative can shape who you are—and is a fundamental part of being human. Chelsea Beck / The Atlantic 14k TEXT SIZE JULIE BECK AUG 10, 2015 HEALTH In Paul Murray's novel Skippy Dies, there’s a point where the main character, Howard, has an existential crisis.“‘It’s just not how I expected my life would be,'" he says. “‘What did you expect?’” a friend responds. “Howard ponders this. ‘I suppose—this sounds stupid, but I suppose I thought there’d be more of a narrative arc.’” But it's not stupid at all. Though perhaps the facts of someone’s life, presented end to end, wouldn't much resemble a narrative to the outside observer, the way people choose to tell the stories of their lives, to others and—crucially—to themselves, almost always does have a narrative arc. In telling the story of how you became who you are, and of who you're on your way to becoming, the sto...