Why stories help

Every Dolan story is built on a few simple ideas about how people, young and old, meet change. They come from research and from years of practice with children and families. Here they are, with the sources, and honestly.

Knowing what comes next

Uncertainty is hard. In research with children, autistic and not, finding uncertainty difficult to tolerate goes hand in hand with higher anxiety (Boulter et al., 2014¹). A story that walks through exactly what will happen, step by step, turns an unknown into something the child has already been through once, before it happens.

That's why every Nurture Tales book describes the day as it will really be: who will be there, what it will look and sound like, what comes first and what comes after. Nothing is left as a surprise.

It follows the same idea psychologists use with anxious children: facing what worries them gradually and safely. In research, this kind of exposure is the most effective part of treatment for childhood anxiety (Whiteside et al., 2020²). A personal story is a gentle cousin of it: the child meets the new situation on paper first, as many times as they like, before it happens. It isn't therapy, but it works with the same grain.

The same words, every time

Children ask for the same story again and again for a reason: repetition makes things familiar, and familiar things feel safer. So our books use the same words for the same things all the way through (never “dentist” on one page and “tooth doctor” on the next), and one short, calming phrase that comes back at the key moments. Each reading is a small rehearsal of the plan, until the words are the child's own.

Stories that show what's coming

Using short, personal stories to prepare children for new situations was developed in the 1990s by the educator Carol Gray, first for autistic children. A large US review of autism research lists these “social narratives” among the practices with evidence behind them (Steinbrenner et al., 2020³). Other reviews find the results vary a lot from child to child (Kokina & Kern, 2010⁴), so we see them as a helpful tool, not a promise.

Telling your own story

The stories we tell about ourselves shape how we meet what's hard. Narrative therapy, developed by Michael White and David Epston, is built on this idea: helping people find a truer, stronger version of their own story (White & Epston, 1990⁵). Our books borrow a gentle version of it. Every story opens and closes with something the child already does well, so they finish it seeing themselves as someone who can.

Looking back on a life

The same idea matters just as much in later life. The psychiatrist Robert Butler described the “life review” as a natural part of growing older: gathering up our memories and making sense of a whole life (Butler, 1963⁶). Narrative approaches built on it help older people tell, and gently re-tell, their own story. They have been studied for decades: a meta-analysis found that structured life review and reminiscence eased depressive symptoms in older adults, most clearly in those who were struggling most (Bohlmeijer et al., 2003⁷).

Memories, brought to life

In dementia care, looking back on a life together is a well-established practice. A Cochrane review of reminiscence work found small benefits for quality of life, memory, communication and possibly mood, in some circumstances (Woods et al., 2018⁸). Reviews of life story books describe them sparking memories and good feelings, and bringing people closer to their family and carers (Elfrink et al., 2018⁹). That's the idea behind Life Tales, coming soon: a life story in words and pictures, to keep and share.

Stories and frightening experiences

Telling the story of what happened is also part of some therapies for trauma, such as the “trauma narrative” in trauma-focused CBT (Deblinger et al., 2011¹⁰) and Narrative Exposure Therapy for children (KIDNET¹¹). But there, the story is built slowly, with a trained therapist and at the child's pace, because retelling something frightening in the wrong way can make it worse.

So our personal books never retell a traumatic event. If your child has been through something frightening, such as an accident, a sudden loss or violence, please start with a qualified professional.

It's not only me

For loss and frightening experiences, a general story helps in a different way. Our books for hard times follow Bo, a small bear cub, through it in general terms. Seeing someone else go through something similar shows a child that it's not only them, and gives them words for what they feel without their own experience being retold. Reviews of children's books about grief describe exactly this: they give children both the facts and the language for their feelings (systematic review, 2023¹²). A review of reading-based support found it can ease anxiety and grief, and works best alongside other support (systematic review, 2025¹³).