The Life Story Summit Schedule

Get excited because this lineup is incredible! Below you'll find the summit schedule and access links.

Thursday, February 25th

• 4pm Pacific / 5pm Mountain / 6pm Central / 7pm Eastern - Kickoff Call in the Facebook group

Friday, February 26th

• Family History - Your Story Inheritance with Emma Fulenwider
• Your stories deserve to be saved. It’s easier than you think, and more important than you realize. We’ll talk about the positive impact that family stories have on the people who write them and the people who read them, as well as popular alternatives for people who don’t want to write a standard biography.
• Watch the presentation
• Benefits of First Time Storytelling with Ann Bernard
• You are the sum of your experiences and everything started with a first time. You can run a thread through your life with first time stories. Come discover what first time storytelling is, the purposes, and the benefits of becoming a first time storyteller. Share - connect - grow closer together.
• Watch the presentation
• Write Your Stories to be Seen, Expressed, Healed and Connected with Jeff Leisawitz
• By uncovering a 'strong emotional perspective' you can tell stories that help you to be seen, expressed, healed and connected. When you bring that gift to the world, you become the gift because you show others that they can be seen, expressed, healed and connected.
• Watch the presentation
• Writing With Purpose Before Publishing with Tara Alemany
• There are many reasons why people write. For some, it's a cathartic exercise. For others, it's so readers can benefit from their life story or set the record straight. Join award-winning author Tara R. Alemany for an exploration of how to write with the purpose to connect more with your readers.
• Watch the presentation

Saturday, February 27th

• Recast Yourself to Become the Hero of Your Story with Kimberly Pereira
  • Perhaps you've heard that we become who we spend the most time with. This is even more relevant when you are storytelling. How you cast yourself in your writing, you become. Discover the links between characterization and rewiring your internal self, so you can tell your story & improve wellbeing.
  • Watch the presentation
• It's About Time - Creating the Habit of Writing Consistently with Dr. Carol Perlman
• Many writers find they struggle to write on a regular basis because they are busy with other demands. Dr. Perlman teaches a simple system for becoming intentional about how you use your time. You will learn to create the time for writing as well as anticipate and work around potential obstacles.
• Watch the presentation
• Turning your story into a TED Talk with Katherine Kennedy 
• Today’s stand-out TED and TEDx talks require creating a quick connection with your audience by revealing what’s essential about you and letting them in your shoes. Knowing how to tell your story and speak with authenticity will help your message stick - and be shared with others.
• Watch the presentation
• Healing The Stories That Keep Us Smaller Than We Need To Be with Lani Peterson
• The facts of a story remain the same, but the way that we make meaning of those facts can make all the difference in whether it becomes a thick (sustaining) story or a thin (constraining) story in our memory files.
• Watch the presentation
• Getting Yourself Excited About Writing...Every Time! with Renee Bibby
• Your amazing, complicated, and interesting life could be a great read, but it can be daunting to craft your lived experience into stories or poems. Reneé Bibby, writer and creative writing teacher, will cover how certain writing exercises can help you transform your life story into a work of art...and get excited about it!
• Watch the presentation

Sunday, February 28th

• Writing as Self-Expression with Stacy Brookman (Me!)
  • Our brains are wired for story. That's pretty cool...because that means digging into our stories allows us to express ourselves in a meaningful way that makes sense to both us and others. Find out in this presentation how your stories can help you discover new superpowers you've never had, and become the person you've always wanted to be.
  • Watch the presentation
• From Trauma to Hope - Life Changing Storytelling with Eric Christiansen
• Using your life experiences, including grief and trauma, to connect with others in order to tell their story. Making genuine human connections a priority before the product. The responsibility of telling another's sacred story. How telling others stories heals on many levels
• Watch the presentation
• The Science-backed Benefits of Writing Your Story with Erin Jourdan Berrios
• The scientific studies continue to affirm writing from personal experience as a therapeutic modality that can heal your body and soul. Learn how writing can: 1) Improve Cognitive Function, 2) Alleviate Anxiety, 3) Build Resilience, 4) Calm Physical Pain, 5) Boost Immunity, 6) Calm Stress Naturally
• Watch the presentation
• Stories in the Spotlight - Take Center Stage to Create Meaning with Mike Ganino
• The greatest power we all have is to look at our experiences and cull meaning from the flotsam and jetsam of the happenings of our life. When we do that, we create story magic. Explore the power of sharing your story on stage (even virtual ones) to start a movement.
• Watch the presentation
• Reboot Your Story Through Journaling with Tracy Winchell
• Building an atomic journaling habit is a powerful tool for shaping our future stories. They’ll share habit formation techniques, show you how to assess your journaling “why,” then provide sets of prompts you can make your own as you build your journaling practice and shape your story.
• Watch the presentation

Monday, March 1st

• Writing the Pandemic: Transitioning Into a Better Life with Faust Ruggiero
• Documenting your life story can help you stop and see where you are, assess what is happening in your life, help you acquire the information you need to make healthy decisions, and set the stage for a happy and productive life.
• Watch the presentation
• Truly U - The Art of Finding Your Voice with Geo Derice
• There are many challenges that prevent a storyteller from uniquely communicating their story. From the programming of others to becoming more self-aware Geo Derice shows you how you can tap into the superpower of you and stand out in any crowded room just being you.
• Watch the presentation
• Unlock the Narrator Within with Calvin Niles
• Everyone has a narrator within. Our duty to ourselves is to become more mindful of its existence and of what story it is telling. With this enhanced awareness, we can exercise new abilities to discover messages that we are already telling and to create new ones.
• Watch the presentation
• Micro-Memoir and Other Ways to Write Short with Patricia Charpentier
• To write life stories, people usually think of writing a book, but we have many other options. The Art of Writing Short looks at alternatives to full-length manuscripts, including mini-memoir, micro-memoir, collections, photo memoirs, your life in lists, five-year journaling, poetry, and more.
• Watch the presentation

Tuesday, March 2nd

• Having a Flight Plan for Your Story with Jackie Camacho-Ruiz
• Pilot Jacqueline Ruiz takes us on an amazing journey using anecdotes of her life as a pilot applied to encapsulating your story! You will learn about the four key elements to take flight on this dream of becoming an amazing storyteller and the tools you need to make sure you land on it.
• Watch the presentation
• How Dreams Affect Your Waking Life and Story with Dr. Barbara Condron
• There are three superpowers driving your life story. In this session, author and dream expert Barbara Condron helps you put your subconscious mind in the author’s seat allowing you to unplug the brain chatter and boost your real story.
  
• Watch the presentation
• Your Effective Memoir Launch with Denis Ledoux
• Even before you begin to write, you can set yourselves up for success by adopting useful writing attitudes. Writing a memoir is a long undertaking, but no more difficult than you can manage. Denis will be sharing some ideas that come as close to a "silver bullet" as you will come.
  
• Watch the presentation
• Boundaries: Deciding Who Gets to Hear Your Story with Ethel Lee-Miller
• A life “story” can keep rolling around in your head, interrupting parts or all of your daily living...in dreams, emotional outbursts, flashbacks, resentments, and more. Connecting with other people or just one person who will listen, affirm, and encourage our journeys is essential. Be open to find someone or a group that you can trust or begin to trust in sharing. Learning how to share first in an environment of acceptance and then in a wider audience can be an ever-expanding way to be happy, joyous, and free.
• Watch the presentation

Wednesday, March 3rd

• Best Kept Secrets for Turning Your Story Into a Book with Charles and Elaine Sanger
• Ever wonder if you can transform your story into a book? Charles and Elaine will share the keys to making that decision, give you the facts about publishing your book and the inside information on what it takes to be a successful author.
• Watch the presentation
• Harness the Power of Imagination to Write Your Future Story with Emily Baker
• When it comes to thinking about your future, it is natural for most people to first look to their past to find evidence of what is possible. Creating a future where you are no longer the powerless victim, requires learning how to create from the future-Emily teaches how to do this using imagination.
• Watch the presentation
• Telling Your Story Today Will Change Your Tomorrow with Jennifer Sanchez
• Jennifer will share how to begin telling your story, even when it’s hard. She held back her own story for more than 10 years. We discuss how you can move forward through the fear holding us and our stories back when we feel we aren’t ready.
  
• Watch the presentation
• Kintsugi Approach to Steering Your Story with Kristin Pedemonti
• Each of us is multi-storied and has experienced brokenness in some way, whether personally or in the world around us. Kristin Pedemonti, creator of Kintsugi Your Life shares this powerful tool in service to reclaim our fragments, mend and become stronger than before the breakage.
  
• Watch the presentation

Thursday, March 4th

• Your Life in Verse: Using Poetry to Tell Your Story with Brenda Joyce Patterson
  • Starting out, if you're not a writer, the idea of tackling all your life and putting it into something like a memoir is intimidating. Brenda’s idea is that writing should be accessible. Writing should be something that you feel is within your reach. The idea of taking a small form like poetry and distilling small parts of your life into it, that's the gateway into writing about your life...and the gateway into writing overall.
  • Watch the presentation
• How Your Pain Story Can Create Success with Brian Bogert
• The world tells us to reduce, eliminate or avoid pain. I’m telling you the world is wrong. We must combat our tendency to avoid pain and instead learn to lean into it for long-term benefit. If we avoid pain, it's not a matter of “if" but “when" suffering will appear in our lives.
  
• Watch the presentation
• Your Life Story is Rocket Fuel For Your Personal Brand with Faith James
• Most people mistakenly believe the way to success is to ONLY focus products, features and benefits. Faith James, CEO of The Personal Branding Consultancy and Author Ladies Power Up Your Brand debunks that myth and explains the value of melding your life story with who you are...your brand.
• Watch the presentation
• Understanding the Art of Storytelling with Larvetta L. Loftin
• Storytelling is an important concept.  Finding our unique, positive stories about strength, about resilience, about determination, and being able to share those stories creates a huge impact on the world. Let's tell your story with authenticity.
• Watch the presentation