The Netflix series The Abandons explores themes of mystery, trauma, and the human struggle to reclaim identity in the face of loss and abandonment. Here is a story inspired by the theme of “The Power of Your Story” — the story you tell yourself about yourself and then to others — through the lens of The Abandons: In…
Tag: book-review
The Power of Your Story in ‘Dark Winds’
Dark Winds is a captivating series that delves into themes of identity, resilience, and the power of the stories we carry within ourselves and project outward. Here is a story from the perspective of the essence of the Power of Your Story as you requested: In the vast expanse of the American Southwest, amid the…
The Power of Your Story in ‘One Battle After Another’
The film “One Battle after Anotheer” unfolds as a profound narrative of endurance, resilience, and the ongoing courage to begin again—much like the stories I explore in “The Power of Your Story.” It opens a window onto the raw, relentless journey of revolutionaries and survivors whose lives pulse with the urgency of survival, the scars…
The Power of your Story in ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’
There is something profoundly unsettling and yet freeing about stories that peel back the layers of fear, perception, and identity. The Woman in Cabin 10, a film adaptation of Ruth Ware’s novel, is precisely such a story — a thriller that disguises itself as entertainment while secretly shouting to the human spirit: Wake up. Look closer. You’ve…
The Power of Your Story in ‘The French Lover’
The French Lover is more than a glossy romantic comedy set against the backdrop of Paris’s café-lined streets. It is an intimate exploration of love, fame, personal reinvention, and the complexities of human connection in a world where public image often conflicts with private truth. Directed by Nina Rives and starring Omar Sy as Abel Camara…
The Power of Your Story in ‘The Salt Path’
“The Salt Path” is a moving British drama based on the memoir by Raynor Winn, starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs as Raynor and Moth. Facing eviction from their cherished farm after a failed investment, and reeling from Moth’s diagnosis with a rare, degenerative neurological disease, the couple are pushed to the very edge—financially, emotionally,…
The Power of Your Story in ‘The Thursday Murder Club’
Introduction: Cozy Crimes, Big Themes—Why This Whodunit Matters for Creative Leaders Chris Columbus’s “The Thursday Murder Club” (2025) isn’t just a charming, star-studded whodunit set in a bucolic English retirement village—it’s a masterclass in the art of storytelling, reinvention, and legacy. As Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie bring to life a…
The Power of Your Story in ‘Cast Away’
Introduction: The Shore Between Worlds What if your story could only begin after everything you know is washed away? Cast Away is far more than a tale about survival on a tropical island—it is a mythic story of transformation, creative rebirth, and the forging of meaning in absolute solitude. Here, the world vanishes; what remains is the…
The Power of Your Story in ‘A Star is Born’
By Peter de Kuster Introduction: The Dual Roads of Glory and Despair A Star Is Born is much more than a simple love story. It is an intricate dance between rising talent and fading glory, hope and addiction, creation and destruction. The 2018 version, directed by and starring Bradley Cooper alongside Lady Gaga, explores the intertwined…
The Power of Your Story in ‘A Theory of Everything’
By Peter de Kuster Introduction: When the Mind Seeks Infinity, the Heart Discovers What Matters The Theory of Everything is the remarkable cinematic journey of Stephen Hawking—a mind that dared to unravel the cosmos despite a body failing him. But this story is as much about human love, sacrifice, and resilience as it is about physics….
The Power of Your Story in ‘Atonement’
By Peter de Kuster Introduction: Truth, Guilt, and the Power of Our Stories “Atonement,” directed by Joe Wright and based on Ian McEwan’s novel, is a heart-wrenching epic that asks: What happens when a single misunderstanding unravels lives, love, even the possibility of redemption? At its core, this film is not only a meditation on…
The Power of Your Story in ‘The Sicilian Clan’
The Call to Adventure: A World of Shadows and Legends In the world of The Sicilian Clan, the call to adventure is not a trumpet blast, but the cold click of a cell door and the whispered promise of freedom. Roger Sartet, a daring and volatile thief, is sprung from prison by the enigmatic Mafia patriarch…
Bridget Jones: What About the Boy? A Hero’s Journey of Second Chances
“Bridget Jones: What About the Boy? — A Hero’s Journey Through Loss, Love, and Second Chances” By Peter de Kuster Introduction: When Life Turns the Page, What Story Will You Write? Bridget Jones: What About the Boy? brings our beloved, ever-awkward heroine into a new era: single motherhood, grief, and the daunting world of modern dating….
The Gilded Age: Heroine’s Journey Through Glitter and Grit
By Peter de Kuster Introduction: Ambition, Society, and the Power to Write Your Story The Gilded Age is a lavish period drama set in 1880s New York, a time when fortunes were made and lost, and the rules of society were being rewritten. Created by Julian Fellowes, the series follows Marian Brook as she enters the city’s rigid social scene, caught between the old-money…
Lucca’s World: The Hero’s Journey of a Mother – and the Legend You Can Write
By Peter de Kuster Introduction: When the Story You Tell Changes Everything Lucca’s World is more than a film about a family’s struggle—it is a luminous testament to the power of hope, the courage to defy the odds, and the resilience that creative leaders must summon in the face of daunting challenges. Mariana Chenillo’s heartfelt drama,…
American Premeval: Forging Your Legend on the Frontier of Change
By Peter de Kuster Introduction: The Frontier as a Mirror American Premeval (as depicted in “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1”) is more than a sweeping Western epic—it’s a meditation on survival, identity, and the forging of new worlds in times of chaos. Set against the backdrop of pre- and post-Civil War America, the film…
Missing You: The Detective’s Journey – And the Legend You Choose to Write
By Peter de Kuster Introduction: When the Search for Others Becomes a Search for Self Missing You is more than a gripping mystery—it’s a story about the courage to seek truth in a world of secrets and lies. When those we love vanish, we’re forced to confront not only the world’s dangers but also the stories…
The Power of Your Story in Pedro Paramo
For over two decades, Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto has established himself as one of his trade’s most accomplished artists. After breaking out on the international stage with Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams,” Prieto has gone on to work with directors like Ang Lee for “Brokeback Mountain,” Ben Affleck for “Argo,” Martin Scorsese…
The Power of Your Story 