Leading Through Stories: When Your World Stops

Digital storytelling is a powerful tool in the realm of health and wellness. It allows individuals to capture and share their experiences in a deeply emotional and engaging way. This was the focus of our recent podcast episode where we sat down with Jennifer, a congenital heart parent and advocate. Jennifer shared her journey with digital storytelling and the profound impact it has had not only on her life but on the lives of others in similar situations.

Jennifer’s journey with digital storytelling began when she heard Kristy speak at a virtual conference, which led her to create ‘Day One’, a compelling digital narrative of her child’s diagnosis. This powerful tool enabled her to encapsulate the emotions and impacts of the moment, creating a poignant story that resonates with many families navigating similar experiences. She discovered the therapeutic potential of digital storytelling, using it as an education and advocacy tool.

Creating a digital story is a process that involves finding the essence of a story, weaving it together with captivating audio-visual elements, and setting the mood with the perfect score. This process is not just about capturing moments but also about unearthing the therapeutic impact of storytelling. It allows individuals to process their experiences in a deeply personal and meaningful way, providing a sense of comfort and understanding that can be invaluable in navigating health and wellness challenges.

The potential of digital stories as a platform for connection was also highlighted in our conversation with Jennifer. She shared her vision of fostering a community of shared experiences and her hopes of establishing a digital story library based on the stories in her book, When Your World Stops; Finding Hope in Your Child’s Medical Journey.

The power of digital storytelling extends beyond self-expression. It can serve as a tool for fostering empathy and understanding, allowing individuals to connect on a deeper level. Our conversation with Jennifer illustrates this beautifully, providing a glimpse into the profound impact of digital storytelling in the health and wellness realm. Her journey serves as an inspiration, highlighting the potential of digital storytelling to make a difference in our lives.

In conclusion, digital storytelling offers a compelling platform for sharing and understanding health and wellness experiences. Whether you are a health professional, a patient, or a family member navigating a health challenge, this tool can provide comfort, connection, and understanding. As Jennifer’s experience demonstrates, digital storytelling is not just about capturing moments; it’s about creating connections, fostering empathy, and promoting healing. Tune in to listen to Jen’s inspiring journey and discover how digital storytelling can make a difference in your own life.

About Our Guest

Jennifer Siran lives in Manitoba, Canada, with her husband and three children. For over a decade, she worked with marginalized youth in Winnipeg’s Inner City, learning the power of story when overcoming hardship. Writing has been a tool that she has used to process many complex emotions and all that life brings. After spending the last 12 years raising an amazing heart hero and navigating some major setbacks, she took time during Covid to write her book—a project to support fellow heart families in a unique way. Their family continues to navigate their son’s chronic illness in the midst of all the amazing things that childhood contains. 

Website: jennifersiran.com
Digital Story: Day One
Book:  When Your World Stops; Finding Hope in Your Child’s Medical Journey

About Leading Through Stories

Everyone has a story to tell—and what we do with that story can create lasting impact. Every episode, Leading Through Stories, helps unravel the how and why of digital storytelling with host Kristy Wolfe.

Life is made up of meaningful moments—which ones do you want to share?

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Isolation to Impact: DST in Cancer Care – Co-Created

One gesture can keep a patient in care. That’s the charge running through our conversation with Jack Bones, a transgender cancer survivor whose digital story takes us from a tense biopsy room to a stage where an audience of clinicians wiped away tears and leaned into hard, necessary dialogue. We walk through how a politicized identity collided with late-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma, how bias nearly closed a door, and how a single act of compassion reopened it.Episode Key Messages• the craft of digital storytelling as patient advocacy• bias in clinical encounters and its real-world risks• the technician’s gesture that restored safety and trust• workshop process from script to screening• reactions at the BC Cancer Summit and productive dialogue• reaching missing audiences in shame and stigma work• plans to use film and allegory for future stories• the ocean moment as a metaphor for freedom• how stories support training, orientation and culture changeOther Links MentionedRead this episode's blog postWatch Jack's digital storyJack created their digital story in a BC Cancer workshop facilitated by Krystle SchofieldCheck out Jack's work, Brassthorn ArtAbout Our GuestJackdaw Bones describes them self as an "eremite" and occasionally ventures out of their home in the woods to show the shiny things they've made, in true covid style.They've been a practising artist ever since their youth, using the lenses of cameras and inks to explore ideas of self, relationships to the natural world, and the terror/joy of living.Jack is a dropout from an art school that has since disappeared to make way for training industrial workers, though they consider their experiences with disastrous experiments over the years their most valuable teacher. They revel in the beautiful chaos of learning from other artists, from books, other artists, and fucking up. The process is where the joy lay for them, and indeed that joy is built into the foundation of every piece they make.They are disabled, and a cancer survivor. They have worked hard over the years to get to the level where they can produce art without sacrificing their health, so while their pieces may not be perfect, the imperfection belies the passion, determination, joy, and gratitude they feel when practising. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1. Isolation to Impact: DST in Cancer Care 25:57
2. The Storyteller’s Yellow Pages 33:23
3. Neurodevelopment, Advocacy & Heart Families 01:06:11
4. Shame, Story, & Healing in Medicine 47:38
5. Resilience Stories in Vet Education 24:22

Common Language DST facilitator trainings are open for registration.
Learn more here.