My research focuses on the power of storytelling, how stories help us bond together, create a sense of identity, and heal from stressful events.  Each of us creates a life story, a story that weaves memories of our personal experiences into a narrative of how we became the person we are and who we want to become. My research asks how this process unfolds across development. Within this broader question, my colleagues, students, and I have examined three major issues, family storytelling, gender differences in autobiographical memory, and autobiographical memory, stress and coping.