The case of the writer whose inner narrator will not shut up.

Amanda Montell is very good at telling stories. So good, in fact, she can’t seem to stop telling them — even to herself.

Amanda has what she calls a “Storymaker” in her head: an internal narrator constantly shaping her life into scenes, arcs, jokes, metaphors, and meaning. Most of the time, it’s fun. It makes life feel cinematic. It’s useful for her writing.

But lately, Amanda has been wondering if the Storymaker is doing too much. Is she actually living her life, or narrating it from the outside? 

In this episode, Yowei connects Amanda with Jonathan Adler, a psychologist who studies narrative identity. Together, they investigate inner monologues, memory, meaning-making, theater kids, and whether Amanda can negotiate a different relationship with the voice in her head. 

From the episode: 

— Amanda Montell — author of The Age of Magical Overthinking, Cultish, and Wordslut, and host of the podcasts Magical Overthinkers and Sounds Like a Cult — on Instagram@amanda_montell

— Jonathan Adler — personality psychologist — more about his work: www.jonathan-adler.com

X @JonathanMAdler, Bluesky @jadler.bsky.social, and LinkedIn

New to Proxy? Try Bisexual Wife Guy for a classic case, or Caitlin Lost the Voice In Her Head for another story about trying to keep making art when the old way stops working. 

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