© Meghann Perry, 2018 STF Presenter
I step up to the podium, clutching my tattered papers in my shaking hands, sweating inside my suddenly too-tight shirt. I don’t know how to do this! But the crowd of hundreds falls to a perfect silence as I begin to speak and I can feel them – their energy is reaching out to me, infusing my heart with courage. The words pour out of my mouth as though they are on wings. They are like butterflies, fluttering through the gymnasium, seeking a place to land, seeking a home among the listeners. The butterflies are my fears, my hopes, and my heart. They are my story.
That night in 2014 was the very first time I told my story of addiction and recovery in public. I got a standing ovation and I couldn’t leave the gym for over an hour as a line of people waited to hug me. They told me about their own struggles with addiction, or about their children, their siblings, their spouses, and their parents. Some of the parents who had lost a child to an overdose or whose children were still out there in active addiction just cried on my shoulder, and held me for the longest time. They whispered “thank you” in my ear, over and over.
We all know the incredible power of stories, especially when they shine light into dark places. By telling my story about my struggles with addiction and incarceration, I give others permission to talk about their own secrets. It is a healing experience, an experience that connects us to each other, helps us understand each other, and an experience that gives not only me, but many others, a voice and a flashlight.
I went on to share my story over and over as a public speaker in the following few years, and then in 2016, I discovered the art of storytelling, and it changed everything. It’s allowed me to infuse my stories with creativity, to indulge my love of theater, to play with my stories, and to reach audiences I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to reach, while still opening people’s hearts up to each other and giving people the courage to share their own truth and to accept the truth of others, even if they differ – the true power of stories to bring us together.
In my career as an Addiction Recovery Coach, as well as in my own personal journey, I understand how transformative storytelling is for those seeking, or already in, recovery. We can give meaning to all the craziness and eliminate some of the shame from our past. Storytelling and story reconstruction is very important to our process as we rebuild and redefine ourselves from the addict to the recovering person, as we seek to become whole again and to break out of the box labeled “addict.” It is an incredibly effective way of changing our own narrative, of allowing us to discover all the parts of ourselves that have been overshadowed by struggle, pain, trauma, and darkness. It allows us to find the joy, the triumph, the hero, and even the silliness, within us. For so many people with addiction, that light has long been extinguished, and we need help to make it burn bright again.
I invite you all – the beautiful, compassionate, creative storytelling community – to come together to explore ways that we can have a positive impact on the devastating crisis of addiction in our communities and families, through the eternal power of story.
Want to learn about the connection between storytelling and addiction? Join Meghann for her workshop on Saturday, March 24 from 1:30 pm – 3pm
Storytelling and the Addiction Crisis: What’s the Connection?
part of Sharing the Fire 2018. Visit the STF Conference Details page to register for the conference or purchase individual tickets to performances.
About Meghann: Meghann is a certified recovery coach, recovery speaker, and storyteller. She is co-director and story coach for the Moving Stories Foundation, co-creator of Recovery Storytelling: Tales of Grit and Grace, a cast member of the Improbable Players, and a frequent winner of story slams in the greater Boston area. Learn more at www.meghannperry.com.
