Telling lives: women, stories and healing

Telling lives: women, stories and healing

Over a year seven women agree to think about, write, and share narratives of living, surviving and being in the afternoon of their lives. During this year we use forms of communication that embrace poetry, image, song and story to create a polyvocal account of women’s lives, voices, struggles and learning. What emerges during the deep and vulnerable personal writing, and the intimate and collective feedback and sharing of stories during writing workshops, is both empowering and healing. From sharing, reading and talking 'about' our writing, we find self-empowerment, affirmation, validation, support, encouragement and dignity and (re)discover both our unique and shared journeys as women. In making our stories public, stories we have not revealed before, storiesof lives we didn’t choose or imagine but of lives we are given and are living through, we listen, hear, recognise and acknowledge experience – our own and others’. As we listen and hear we connect to ourselves and to the diversity, uniqueness, strength and depth of other women. And in so doing we find connection, healing and renewed courage to live meaningfully and wholly.

Abstract only published in Conference Program.