Real Life Stories

The Best Stories are True

Everyone has a story - it's just that some people may be a little better at telling them. Here are some places where you can find great stories from people who are maybe not so different from you and me. Some may have done some extraordinary things -- and others have found the extraordinary in the everyday.

Track your stories

Everyday People Stories

StoryCorps

StoryCorps preserves and shares stories from ordinary people to build connections and promote compassion. Watch the short video above for an explanation and then choose stories to explore:

Your Story Our Story

Your Story Our Story, a national project, explores American immigration and migration through crowd-sourced stories of everyday objects.

EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America

TED Talks

Ken Burns' UNUM Shorts

UNUM is a new way to explore American history through scenes selected from across over 40 films. UNUM is constantly curating new topics, providing historical context for the conversations we are having today. A few samples:

Biographies

Documentaries on Netflix

  • Becoming (Michelle Obama)

  • Searching for Sugar Man

On Amazon Prime

On Hoopla

  • A Small Act

  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin)

Movie Dramas Based on Real Life

There are hundreds of good movies you could explore so we're just going to recommend a few that you may or may not know. Watch a drama based on real life and take it a step further by looking up some information about what's not in the movie!

  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (TV-PG)

  • Freedom Writers (PG-13)

  • Julie & Julia (PG-13)

  • Saving Mr. Banks (PG-13)

  • The Pursuit of Happyness (PG-13)

  • The King's Speech (R - because of one swear!)

  • Lion

  • The Climb (R)

  • 22 July (R)

  • United 93 (R)

  • Kon-Tiki (PG-13)

  • 93 Days (TV-PG)

  • Pad Man (PG-13)

Amazon Prime Based on Real Stories

The Aeronauts (PG)