Life narratives have wide appeal because they promote the modern ideal
of freeing people to reflect on their life and to share personal mean
ings and experience in public. Constructing a life story may aid adult
development and well-being. This article explores how to enhance thes
e benefits, but criticizes the idealization of stories and their benef
its. Using life stories from 16 randomly selected clinically depressed
and nondepressed elderly persons, this article examines the narrative
structures and how these relate to mood and to ideal images for the s
elf. Findings show that some normative styles for self-representation
(i.e., personal themes) serve to express distress instead of positive
well-being. The discussion points to cultural and historical forces sh
aping our ideas about themes in stories. Life stories do privilege per
sonal meanings, but the settings and form constrain their value as res
earch data and their effectiveness as vehicles for enhancing well-bein
g.