Is There a Power in Not Knowing Where the Story Is Going?

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There's a power in the book to not knowing where the story is going maybe this also ties into what you said your evolution was of being comfortable not going where you're reading about Ray Oshoroff for a pretty long time. I struggled with that chapter a lot more than the other chapters because just because of who he was and I felt like I had chosen that chapter because the case was so important. It really showed the this collision between two different ways of understanding the mind but I think it was the first time I'd ever written about someone who was just agitating in the way that he was agitating and I would like give that the draft to people and they'd be like get

Rachel Aviv is a staff writer for The New Yorker. Her new book is Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us.

“I used to feel that if I knew everything, that was a good sign. And I've become more aware that if you know everything you want to argue, that's not such a good sign…. Do I have a genuine question? Is there something I’m trying to figure out? Then the story is worth telling. But if I don’t really have a question or if my question is already answered, then maybe that should give you pause.”

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