The stories in this publication were told as a part of a King's Fund project that aimed to uncover some of the values that shape day-to-day action and behaviour in the NHS. In one-day storytelling workshops, staff were asked to recount recent experiences that mattered to them, and service users were also interviewed. It was found that people's lived experience of the NHS is mixed. The authors pick out seven themes which emerged from the stories told. These were: attitudes; mismatched expectations; disparity in care; working the system; being valued; taking responsibility; and opportunity.