Last week I had the opportunity to tell my story on the Hoyt Sherman Place stage for the Des Moines Storytellers Project - My Great Adventure: Wanderlust. The Storytellers Project is a series of live storytelling nights where Des Moines Register journalists curate and host nights of true, first-person stories.
Like the rest of the storytellers, my story was very personal to me. The story I tell walks the listener through the last four years of my life. In telling my story I claim ownership of the events and feelings that have taken place. I am confronting dreams of full time travel put on hold, the deepest parts of my grief and the moments that have kept me going through it all. And why after everything I've been through, I still Wanderlust! This was not an easy thing to do! To have this story in repeat in my head for two months was exhausting and overwhelming, not just for me, but for my family too. I want to thank Aaron Short, my husband, for his unconditional support and love through this process. We've been in this together and that isn't changing. His support helps my strength and belief in myself. But it took accepting who I've become, the person I am - right now, to give me the personal power to write my story, edit it, then say it aloud and share it with others. I signed up to do this because I know the power that storytelling has on the listener and the teller. Linda, my mother-in-law, passed away in December and after, I felt giant waves of grief. I didn't want to be alone in my grief. So I reached out and found support services and I am using them, my family is using them. I found this so beneficial that I decided to really tap into some healing and bring my story to Hoyt Sherman, sold out crowd of 1,200 people..."Holy hell, what have I gotten myself into!?!" It was healing! I had many people come up to me and speak of their own experiences with grief and how my story touched their lives. I had friends show up to support me through this whole journey and I am so grateful. Thank-you! I also want to thank Lee Rood for being my coach and the whole DM Register Storytellers team who makes this event happen. Every storyteller has a unique perspective that no one else can have. That is what makes the human condition inspiring. That is why it is important to share our stories because the only way we can walk in someone else's footsteps is to discover and learn more about their lives. That is why storytelling is so important! I have new music to share too! The High Crest will be releasing a new song I wrote, You Have To See It, that accompanies my story so you will be able to hear that soon. The Storytellers Project will be available on different platforms, including Iowa Public Television, streaming live at https://www.storytellersproject.com/ and in print in the Des Moines Register in the next few weeks. The inspiring stories from last Tuesday can be found on Sound Sound Cloud at https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/03/27/six-iowans-share-great-adventures-des-moines-storytellers-project/3151817002/ Thanks for listening! -Kat Darling
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