In WHAT STORIES ARE YOU LIVING?, Dr. Carol S. Pearson --- the internationally recognized developer of the Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator (PMAI) --- delves deeply into the broader meanings and functions of our individual archetypes and the “stories” that support them.

This book invites the reader to begin by taking the PMAI assessment, which will reveal the participant’s three strongest archetypes among the 12 devised through this dynamic system. With this initiation, one can begin to learn more about one’s own characteristics, presented in enlivened, panoramic scenarios rather than in limiting, academic terminology --- the latter sometimes being the case with such examination. This gives the reader a chance not only to explore one’s current life choices and goals, but to look back at a symbolic story of how those proclivities developed from earliest childhood. Readers can guess at the archetypes of their closest friends, family or significant others, as the system suggests vibrant partnerships for each type. 

"Anyone who takes the PMAI assessment and uses Pearson’s book as a manual will discover astonishing and imminently practical truths emerging from their utilization, underpinned by a rich combination of mystical sources and realistic analogies."

The depiction of each archetype --- Idealist, Seeker, Sage, Realist, Lover, Jester, Caregiver, Ruler, Creator, Warrior, Revolutionary, Magician --- describes “plotlines” or themes and events that would naturally arise in that type’s experience. The Idealist may meet with an antagonist who will try to convince her or him that bad outcomes await, but she or he will continue to shift attention to good happenings now and in the future. Idealist and Realist may find balance in relationships, with the Idealist offering the Realist some positive possibilities and the Realist helping the Idealist to settle on realizable, stable solutions. The Jester might divert and relax the rigid mind of the Ruler; so, too, the naturally altruistic Caregiver can offer respite to a battle-weary Warrior.

A powerful segment of this work focuses on archetypal narratives “in the world” (Chapter 10), in which stories from myth and folklore illustrate precisely how a person with a given dominant archetype might act and react in certain envisioned circumstances, bringing the theory even closer to the realities with which we all must cope. 

Anyone who takes the PMAI assessment and uses Pearson’s book as a manual will discover astonishing and imminently practical truths emerging from their utilization, underpinned by a rich combination of mystical sources and realistic analogies. Pearson has made education in the realm of self-discovery her own chosen path, perhaps herself embodying a bit of all the archetypes she has constructed. This volume of her work is a must-read for anyone willing to take that crucial and rewarding inward journey with her.