Make Sense of Your Story

Why Engaging Your Past with Kindness Changes Everything

By: Adam Young, Dr. Dan Allender - foreword

Narrated by: Adam Young

Looking back at painful stories from the past seems counterproductive, especially when it appears unrelated to our present lives. But what if exploring our past stories can help us make sense of where we are now and begin to imagine who we would like to become? Rather than ignoring, suppressing, or running from our past hurts, looking at our stories of heartache and how they have shaped us helps make sense of who we are now and points the way to freedom and meaningful change.

In Make Sense of Your Story, trauma therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Adam Young helps you explore your personal story so you can understand how your experiences have shaped your brain—which, in turn, allows you to understand why your present day-to-day life looks and feels the way it does. He shows you how to confront and process the story of your family of origin, your sexual story, the story your body is telling you, your cultural story, your story with God, and more with kindness rather than judgment so that you can experience healing, self-acceptance, and release.

The secret to making sense of your present life is understanding your past experiences. And if you want to change the narrative, you have to engage your story.

©2025 Adam Young (P)2025 Christian Audio

True Healing

This book was phenomenal. I listened to the whole thing in a couple of days. It’s packed so full of useful and healing information that I will need to go back, listen again, and take it slow this time. The suggestions and questions included in this book are so helpful for deep story work, shedding light on the things we all tend to ignore or dismiss about our stories—things that actually hold the keys to moving forward. If you’re stuck in unwanted behaviors or patterns of thinking or hopelessness or mental problems or relational issues or you don’t understand why you react to things the way you do, you will find so many answers in your story with the help of this book. I feel that this book may be ESPECIALLY helpful for those raised in the church, since unfortunately that can often mean being raised in a culture of frequent spiritual abuse, scriptural misuse, or manipulation even if you haven’t realized it yet. But also, I think absolutely anyone who comes across this book should read it. I love how the science of psychology and physiology are so intertwined into the emotional education that this book offers. You’ll learn so much about yourself, others, and humans as a whole reading this book!! And oddly enough, you’ll learn tons about parenting. I think all parents or soon to be parents should have the information in this book. I highly recommend it to anyone. I will be reading it ten more times just to be reminded of the deep truths that are so important for healing and growth. This author has been such a big part of my personal development and growth and I could not be more grateful! I highly recommend his podcast as well, it’s called “The Place We Find Ourselves.” I’ve probably gotten more out of that podcast and this book than months of therapy. Happy listening!

The first parts of this book are very good and applicable.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in healing from their life’s story! I am grateful that I read this book.

If entered into.... it'll change your life

Excellent book. About half or more is a repeat of his podcast (which is top-notch). Regardless, excellent starting point to understand why engaging your own story is so needed to live more fully present in your life today.

Questions to engage the material throughout the book were super helpful.

I felt to understood

This is the most life changing book. It was exactly what I didn’t know I needed to hear. It allowed me to see my story for the first time. I highly recommend.

The book we all need and want whether we know it or not.

I like absolutely everything about this except that Adam’s winsome personality didn’t come through as clearly as it does on his podcast. I missed his laughter, his tears, his sighs, his pauses. But thanks be to God both this book and that podcast exist. Cheers!

10/10 recommend

As a therapist and longtime listener of Adam’s podcast, I cannot recommend this book enough. Hands down the best book I’ve read on spiritual and therapeutic health. Engaging our story is how we heal. And we do that in community with people who meet us there with loved and compassion. Cannot say enough good about this book. It’s about to become my number one recommended book to clients.

It does make sense!

I’ve listened to Adam Young’s podcast for years - it has been a lifeline to help me understand what had landed me in the last third of life with little understanding of my persistent pain. This book takes the concepts I’ve heard him talk about and puts them in one easy-to-access place in a logical, easy-to-follow sequence. I want everyone I love to experience the freedom and healing I’ve found from engaging my story, and now I have just the tool to invite them into the healing journey of story work. Thank you, Adam!