The Book Behind the Practice
A deeper look at the ideas that shaped Sienna & Slate.
Why This Work Matters
Much of modern life teaches us to move faster, produce more, and measure our worth by what we accomplish.
But achievement alone does not always answer the questions about identity, purpose, or meaning.
My research began with a different question:
How do people come to understand themselves through the stories they live, tell, and revise over time?
That question eventually became Endarkened Narrative Inquiry.
What is Endarkened Narrative Inquiry?
Endarkened Narrative Inquiry (ENI) is a framework developed by Dr. Keondria McClish-Boyd for understanding how people make meaning through story, reflection, context, and lived experience.
Rather than treating stories as simple accounts of events, ENI asks how people come to know themselves through the stories they inherit, resist, reclaim, and create.
It draws from traditions that recognize knowledge as relational, embodied, historical, and deeply connected to the social worlds in which we live.
The Five Tenets of Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Research that is Personal
Our experiences are not obstacles to understanding. They are part of how we come to know ourselves and the world.
Research that is Reflexive
Inquiry begins by examining our own assumptions, stories, and ways of seeing as we seek to understand others.
Research that is Relational
Meaning is created in relationship. Our stories are shaped through our connections to people, places, histories, and communities.
Research that Reclaims
Research can challenge dominant narratives, recover silenced voices, and make space for ways of knowing that have too often been overlooked.
Research that Represents
How we tell stories matters. Representation carries ethical responsibility because stories shape how people understand themselves and others.
While these tenets guide ENI as a methodology, they also shape everything we create at Sienna & Slate. They remind us that reflection is not simply about recording our thoughts. It is about understanding ourselves, our relationships, and the lives we are creating.
Continue the Practice
Reading can change the way you think.
Practice changes the way you live.
If you'd like to begin building a reflective practice, explore The Ritual.