December 2015 Collab Salon: Recuperating Michael White and recuriositizing narrative therapy

Our December Collab Salon discussion traced some of Michael White’s contributions to our thinking through the gift of reviewing very rich workshop notes from 1991-2007 by Linda Moxley and Sarah Hughes.Linda Moxley graciously shared her meticulous  notes from two of Michael White’s workshops (1991; 2007), and then aided us in rescuing the said from the saying; together we evoked Michael’s intentions, paying particular attention to themes, shifts in language and zig-zagging. Michael talked about conversations zigging back and forth in a number of ways: between action and identity questions; between remote past, possible future and present; between what is known and familiar and what is possible to know; between problem stories and stories that fit with intentions. Philosophy brought richness to Michael’s ideas. We also applied the zigzagging metaphor around Michael’s love of building on ideas from others and weaving these into his thinking and practices across time. Honoring Michael’s legacy means not limiting our thinking, searching for many possibilities, and remembering “No correct route.”