The Importance of Meaning and Purpose

Do the stories we tell about ourselves have the power to change us? Our guest today says they can.

To wrap up our season on meaning and purpose, we talk with author Daniel Nayeri. In his award-winning young adult novel, Everything Sad is Untrue, Daniel writes from the perspective of his twelve-year-old self, sharing the story of how he, his sister, and his mother immigrated from Iran to Edmond, Oklahoma, after his mother’s conversion from Islam to Christianity. Although this immigration kept his family out of prison (or worse), life in the U.S. came at a cost, too. Through his storytelling, Daniel also processes what he left behind: his beloved stuffed animal ("Mr. Sheep Sheep"), a life of comfort in Iran, and his larger-than-life father.

In this episode, we explore finding meaning through storytelling, the impact of an active imagination, and how the sustaining hope of the Christian story makes even a refugee camp in the Italian countryside a place of opportunity and joy.

• Order Everything Sad Is Untrue here
• Order Daniel's newest book, The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, here
• Sign up for our newsletter here.
• Visit veritas.org to learn more about the mission of the Veritas Forum and find more resources to explore the ideas that shape our lives.