Healing Story Sessions: The Patient Story

Celebrating the relationship between vulnerability and strength

Illness can be isolating, dis-empowering and frightening. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Health Story Collaborative is committed to honoring and celebrating the patient voice. The goal of Healing Story Sessions is to offer individuals facing health challenges an opportunity to write their stories and share them with a supportive audience.

What we at Health Story Collaborative believe:

Living with illness is a challenge, but it doesn’t necessarily make us “less”. It can give us perspective, depth, compassion, empathy, resiliency and strength.

Facing and giving voice to our vulnerability makes us stronger.

Individuals living with illness have valuable lessons to teach. Story sharing is a gift.

There is power in both sharing and in listening. Story sharing builds community.

Healing Story Sessions are about honoring and bearing witness. Patient stories transcend illness as a tribute to hope, human resiliency and dignity

How it works:

Each session will feature two individuals facing health challenges.

Prior to each session, Health Story Collaborative works with each speaker individually to help them write an empowering, authentic narrative.

Both speakers will have the opportunity to invite up to 15 individuals of their choosing to form their listening communities.

Each speaker will become a member of the other speaker’s listening community, to experience the healing benefits of listening as well as of sharing.

For Patients:

This is an opportunity for you to craft your narrative and to gather your friends and family in order to share your story in a supportive, structured setting.

You will be listened to and heard, and this will make you stronger.

In sharing, you are giving a gift to those who care about you and strengthening your community.

In witnessing the story of the other featured speaker, you will have the opportunity to become a supportive listener, and to experience the benefits of hearing from another person who might be facing challenges similar to your own.

For Invited Friends and Family:

This is an opportunity to support someone you care about by being present and witnessing his/her story.

In listening, you will learn.

In listening, you can join in the celebration of hope, human resiliency and dignity.

If you or someone you know would be interested in scheduling a Healing Story Session, please email us at abrewster@healthstorycollaborative.org.