This week I talk about the power of metaphor both in stories and in the human life. Starting out with the idea of vivid descriptions, I first talk about an author's ability to paint a picture that engages all the senses, rather than just telling what someone is doing or seeing or feeling. This goes back to the advice of 'show, don't tell,' but I think that it goes even beyond that. Metaphor's, visualizations​, the ability to explain things in a way that engages how a person interacts with the world (through the senses) is directly connected to how we become close to other people. So, the idea of metaphor goes beyond writing and story-telling and helps us understand our lives on a deeper level. I hope that today's show and many shows to come allow you to view life differently and gain a better appreciation for the little things or even those things that are difficult. Here are the links to the different books and poems I references in this episode: Steven Pinker's 'The Sense of Style' https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20821371-the-sense-of-style?from_search=true ; Gabriele Lusor Rico's 'Writing the Natural Way' https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/143257.Writing_the_Natural_Way?from_search=true ; Charles Dickens' 'Hard Times' https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5344.Hard_Times?from_search=true ; and Philip K. Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7082.Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep_ .