A Future Untold:
The power of story to transform the world and ourselves
By Alina Siegfried
Available now!
An entertaining and inspiring rallying cry, A Future Untold urges us to return to the most fundamental driver of human behaviour and culture setting – story.
Why can’t you understand those people who think and act so differently from you?
Why have we failed to meaningfully address climate change despite 40 years of clear climate science?
Why are so many of our systems of social support failing us, while wealth inequality increases?
At the root of the answers to these questions lies the extraordinary power of story. The world is built upon stories - stories we believe about ourselves and others, narratives about “the way things are”, and myths that define our relationship to the world around us. And because it was us - humans - who collectively authored these stories, it is us who have the power to change them.
A Future Untold translates the fundamentals of narrative change into authentic stories, entertaining anecdotes, new myths for humanity, and a handful of powerful poems to provide a call to action for everyday citizens who believe that we can build a better future together.
What People Are Saying
“If you want to change, you need to think deeply about storytelling. This lovely, elegant book will set you off on that journey.”
Johann Hari, author of NY Times bestsellers Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections
“Siegfried sheds light one of the most difficult problems facing modern diplomacy… Too often states are reluctant to listen to other perspectives and too quick to demonise opponents. This is a systemic weakness and exactly why ‘A Future Untold’ is so timely.”
Colin Keating, former President of the UN Security Council and New Zealand Ambassador to the UN
“If we can't imagine and articulate a story better than capitalism's myth of exponential growth, we will indeed play out this one to its awful conclusion. There is another, untold story of our future, and this is our first best effort at helping us tell it together.”
Douglas Rushkoff, documentarian, media theorist, and author of Team Human, Present Shock, and Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity
“A wise and hopeful work… He taonga aroha - a treasure that radiates generosity of spirit.”
Dame Anne Salmond, Order of Merit of New Zealand, anthropologist, and Distinguished Professor at University of Auckland
“This evocative, perceptive, and beautiful book is about us and the living Earth. To tell the story, Alina beautifully weaves her moving memoir – of a life lived in deep and rich connection with others and nature – into an inspiring guide to our collective future. Alina’s wisdom will up-end your life, giving you courage to grow richer, deeper relationships with people and planet…beginning by learning ‘the subtle art of story listening’.”
Rod Oram, Business Journalist
“Siegfried moves seamlessly from personal to global and from cutting edge to timeless, exploring how stories create our reality as much as they describe it… a superb work that will be read for years to come.”
Alex Evans, Author of The Myth Gap, and founder of Larger Us