Introducing our Transformational Narrative Coaching book – the power of story

Human beings have always told stories. In the beginning, we huddled around campfires. These days we huddle around the TV, mobile or computer, in pubs and restaurants, at home and at work, to create and consume the stories of our lives, other people’s lives, businesses and the media.

Stories help us make sense of the world. Stories are incredibly powerful. Every TV programme, podcast, blog post, conversation, meeting and coaching session effectively tells a story. They’re everywhere, big and small, tightly woven into our lives. They connect us, they disconnect us, they’re impossible to separate from us. Every life is a story. There’s no escaping the power and influence of storytelling. It is everywhere!

Even our book has a backstory. All built upon the interconnected stories of how we pulled together narrative theory and applied it to Transformational Narrative Coaching. From the very beginning, with the book idea itself, the journey of writing it, to the final edits and the book completion.

Then, came that memorable summer day, when we took that first book out of the box from the printers and slowly opened the cover. That pivotal moment marked a new and different story line for our business and for us both. One that still continues to emerge, even with the writing of this post!

Peter Gruber, the Executive Producer of five Oscar-winning films including Rain Man & Color Purple, knows a thing or two about ‘story’, and how to make stories come to vibrant life.

He says “Today everyone – whether they know it or not – is in the emotional transportation business. More and more, success is won by creating compelling stories that have the power to move people to action. Simply put, if you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it.

We couldn’t agree more, and that’s why our book is such a useful resource, exploring the compelling nature of narratives for business professionals and their organisations.

The Story So Far

Our book is called The Story So Far: Introduction to Transformational Narrative Coaching and it recognises how stories are continuously unfolding. We understand that stories define individuals, teams, organisations, clubs, cultures, regions and nations. We know that working with narratives provides an effective way to help our clients understand and affirm what really matters to them. It plays an important part in shaping new identities and possibilities for the future. We understand that stories form an essential part of personal and organisational sensemaking and that narrative literacy is therefore vital.

The book combines all the relevant narrative theory behind Transformational Narrative Coaching with practical coaching applications. It distils a proven methodology drawn from our many years of coaching experience, reflecting our work with a blend of narratives across organisational and one-to-one contexts.

It’s designed for coaches who want to know more about the way in which narrative coaching can become a valuable additional approach to their practice. The book is for coaches who instinctively resonate with the idea that stories can truly be a means of catalysing and harnessing significant change.

Those coaches who know that when the meaningful dots of our stories connect to form the new picture or solution that clients have been searching for, then the result can be extremely powerful.

I want to order the book – How do I do it?

The Story So Far: Introduction to Transformational Narrative Coaching is available on Amazon UK in both paperback and Kindle versions. Here’s a link. 

If you are based outside the UK you can buy the book via this link and it will be mailed to you.

Receive a free copy – join one of our narrative coaching courses

If you decide to attend one of our advanced narrative courses, you’ll automatically receive a copy of our book. This will support your learning during the training and be a great resource to dip in and out of in the future.
Here’s a link to the courses

What other people say about the book

I love this book! It brings a unique combination of a synthesis of the academic theory underpinning Transformational Narrative Coaching, interwoven with a clear and easy to understand explanation of how to practice coaching, blending theory while being accessible and practical. It is easy to read as well as challenging and thought-provoking. It is reassuring and profoundly encouraging, as Nick and Jude share their belief in the potential of each of us to become effective actors, agents and authors of our lives. Most of all the warmth, generosity and positivity of Jude and Nick shines through, as they share a lifetime of experience drawn from myriad coaching conversations. I am delighted to have so much of Jude and Nick’s wisdom in one book.

Alison Coulter, former Director of Artesian Transformational Leadership and now Director of Thrive Worldwide.

In the fast-growing world of executive coaching, it is rare to find a truly robust, credible and deep approach that is both refreshing and practical. Transformational Narrative Coaching is one such approach. Moreover, Nick and Jude’s work has been proven to work for countless individuals and organisations, and with their authentic generosity of spirit, they have produced here a book and training programme that takes important theory and distils it into accessible tools and techniques for aspirant and experienced coaches. Their approach to training coaches over the years has been delightfully hands-on, and I can say wholeheartedly from my personal experience and that of my teams they have trained, has been both stretching and joyful in equal measure which makes for a powerful experience for the eventual client.

Tim Richardson, Director Waverley Learning and formerly Director of Leadership and Talent at PwC

Follow your curiosity

If you’d like to know more, then this book is well worth a read. You can dive into the world of narrative coaching and experience the transformational potential that is waiting to be found within those pages!