Develop and Share Your Story

I'm really on a kick regarding stories.  How to develop them and then looking for opportunities to share them.  One of my late husband's favorite movie lines was from Mad Max...and while I could not find the exact quote, it goes something like: "we tells these tales, so we can remember".

Yesterday's post to Defeat ALS was Developing your Story - Tips and Tricks.  It was specifically geared to developing a personal story around an ALS diagnosis.  The biggest take away from the post is this: Your ultimate goal is to educate people about the disease, share your experience, talk about what the specific organization that you support does to help people with the disease. Then ask for help to honor you/your family member/your friend by supporting the good work done by that organization.  I believe your focus on raising money to fund research/find a cure will ultimately help you speak with confidence.

I believe there are several versions of a personal story which need to be developed.

1. A personal history which is the War & Peace version of your story.
2. A basic narrative which is a synopsis of your circumstance.  It would include the type of disease or condition, details concerning your diagnosis, your initial reaction(s) to your diagnosis, what have you learned about yourself as a result of your diagnosis, how you have been assisted by family, friends, support organizations and advice to other patients in your situation.
3. Finally, you need an "elevator" pitch.  Which is your basic narrative condensed into 90 seconds.  This is often used as an introduction when you are asked to speak, are attending a support group or meet with legislators in the context of an advocacy event.  This is often the hardest to develop because you need to hit the "high notes" and pull the heart strings in one and a half minutes.
   

As I cruised the web for additional resources, I came across BreastCancerStories.org and want to share the link.  It's a beautiful site with honest, authentic stories.

"What truly makes BreastCancerStories.org different from a traditional blog site is that the stories are all searchable by location, age, type of breast cancer / treatment, marital status, ethnic background and more. It's very therapeutic to find others going through a similar situation, read their stories and even connect with them directly through the website."

So...what's your story!?