I have been telling stories for as long as I can remember. From scaring myself and my friends at sleepovers, to entertaining younger children in vacation Bible School, storytelling always came as naturally to me as breathing. When my children were growing up, I would tell stories at summer camps in exchange for their camp tuition, and in their classrooms at school. I enjoy telling to audiences of all ages, from my grandchildren’s preschools to seniors in nursing homes. During my career as a social worker I specialized in helping folks with dementia, and I found retelling old, familiar stories to be particularly therapeutic. Children’s birthday parties, adult Halloween parties, storytelling festivals, schoolroom history lessons…I will find a story that fits the need of the event. My own fairly long and eventful life gives me much inspiration.
I believe stories are what makes us human, vehicles for transmitting those deep truths that can’t simply be told in words. The right story, well told, can transform a mundane event into something extraordinary that will be long remembered by everyone present.