Themes
View graph →Each theme is an open question. Choose one that pulls at you, and the Scribe will help you put your answer into words.
Courage →
Acts of nerve — small and large — and what they cost.
“Tell me about a time you did something that scared you. What was at stake, and what changed afterward?”
Anger →
Rage, irritation, when to act on it and when not to.
“Tell me about a time anger taught you something — or cost you something. What did you learn from it?”
Parenting →
Raising people, being raised, the long handoff between generations.
“What is one thing about parenting (or being parented) that surprised you — and what did you learn from it?”
Work →
Craft, ambition, money, meaning, and how we spend our days.
“Describe a piece of work you are proud of. Why did it matter, and what did making it teach you?”
Discipline →
Habits, restraint, practice — how we shape ourselves over time.
“What is a practice you keep — or have struggled to keep — that has shaped who you are? What does it take?”
Love →
Romantic and otherwise — the practice of caring for another person over time.
“What is something you used to believe about love that you no longer believe? What changed your mind?”
Forgiveness →
Letting go of wrongs given or received. Mercy and its limits.
“Have you forgiven someone, or been forgiven, in a way that mattered? What was it, and what changed?”
Failure →
When it went wrong, and what came of it.
“Tell me about a failure that shaped you. What did it cost, and what did it give you?”
Suffering →
Pain that can't be fixed. How we carry what we can't put down.
“Tell me about a kind of pain you've had to live with rather than fix. How do you carry it?”
Humility →
Knowing your size. Being humbled by people, failures, or things larger than you.
“When have you been humbled — by another person, by a failure, by something larger? What did it leave you with?”
Money →
What it buys, what it costs, what it can't do.
“When did your relationship with money change? What happened, and what do you do differently now?”
Time →
How we spend it, lose it, hold it.
“Describe how your sense of time has changed across your life. What feels urgent now that did not before — or vice versa?”
Faith →
Belief, doubt, and what we lean on when things are hard.
“What do you believe in that you cannot prove? How did you come to it, and what does it ask of you?”
Justice →
Fairness, what is owed, what we do when things are not as they should be.
“Describe a moment when something felt unfair — to you, or that you witnessed. What did you do, and what do you believe now about fairness?”
Strangers →
Brief encounters that mattered.
“Tell me about a stranger who changed something for you. What did they do, and why did it stick?”
Endings →
Goodbyes, losses, the closing of chapters.
“Describe an ending you handled well — or one you wish you had handled better. What do you know now?”