On my own path to my passionate purpose, I discovered that every failure, every setback, and every depression was actually a call to step forth into an adventurous life that I had not yet imagined. Something in a story -- a character, event, landscape, even an image -- would touch me where I was most wounded and helped to bring it forth to rebirth. And in my imagination, what I call the Story Zone, the brave protagonist's path forward became my own.
I have lived story and know that every broken place in us can be exposed and attended to. I know intimately that through listening to meaningful stories and poems, writing improvisationally from them as a launch pad to whatever truth we hold in our hearts, and sharing our writing in non-judgmental community, we can turn our suffering into a salve for others who yearn for warmth and understanding. That in itself changes us from feeling victimized to becoming empowered.
