Each of us has a narrative compass, a story that has guided our lifework. In this extraordinary collection, women scholars from a variety of disciplines identify and examine the stories that have inspired them, haunted them, and shaped their research, from "Little House on the Prairie" to "Little Women", from the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" to Nancy Drew, Mary Jane and even the Chinese memoir Jottings from the "Transcendant's Abode at Mt. Youtai". Telling the 'story of her story' leads each of the essayists to insights about her own approach to studying narratives and to a deeper, often surprising, understanding of the power of imagination. Contributors are Deyonne Bryant, Minjie Chen, Cindy L. Christiansen, Beverly Lyon Clark, Karen Coats, Wendy Doniger, Bonnie Glass-Coffin, Betsy Hearne, Joanna Hearne, Ann Hendricks, Rania Huntington, Christine Jenkins, Kimberly Lau, Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, Maria Tatar, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Roberta Seelinger Trites, Claudia Quintero Ulloa, and Ofelia Zepeda.