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Transform your pain + passion into purpose through the art of storytelling in recovery.

Introduction to Recovery Storytelling | A SHE RECOVERS® Through Self-Expression Online Workshop

April 2, 2023 @ 12:30 PM PT / 3:30 PM ET / 8:30 PM GMT

Your story has the power to ignite individual + collective healing.

In 2022, SHE RECOVERS was able to reach over 3 million women in or seeking recovery. Sadly an estimated 34 million women are still suffering from mental health/substance use disorders.

We believe that the transformational and empowering craft of storytelling can help change the narrative of recovery and inspire others who are struggling to find hope and healing.

There is no greater source of inspiration + influence than a woman in recovery. yOUR story is proof.

In this two hour introductory workshop, award-winning storyteller and nationally known recovery educator Meghan Perry of Revolution Recovery will guide you to:

Identify what recovering out loud means to you
Craft new ways to look at the stories you tell yourself and others about your struggles and triumphs
Recognize personal narratives that may serve as gateways to individual and collective healing
Utilize the SHE RECOVERS Intentions & Guiding Principles as a roadmap for sharing your story
Spark conversations that can inspire communities to change the narrative of what it means to be in recovery
Examine your story as a strategy to shift the culture of recovery so that other women can find hope and healing
Infuse the SHE RECOVERS inclusive recovery community ethos into your messaging and your life

About Your Guide

Meghann Perry, CARC, RCPF, is an award-winning storyteller, theatre practitioner, addiction recovery coach, and the founder of Revolution Recovery. She creates unique learning, growth, and performance experiences for people of all ages utilizing a blended practice of theatre, storytelling, and coaching principles, and is a nationally-known educator in the field of recovery coaching. She has designed and facilitated countless workshops for diverse groups, including those with mental health and substance use challenges, transgender youth, adults and allies, adoptive caregivers, non-profit boards, and others.

Meghann recently integrated theatre and storytelling practices into youth and young adult residential treatment services for the MA Dept. of Public Health and has worked extensively with adolescents and young adults as a recovery coach and theatre practitioner. She is the creator of the nationally-renowned Phoenix Tales Recovery Storytelling workshop which is currently under research as an evidence-based recovery support by the Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice at Northeastern University. She also serves as the theatre education consultant for the Boston-based theater organization, 2nd Act. She recently co-directed the musical “This is Treatment,” about women in a residential substance addiction treatment program, with students at Northeastern University. She holds a BFA in Theatre Education from Emerson College. You can learn more about her at www.meghannperry.com.

SHE RECOVERS® Through Self-Expression Workshop Series

The ‘Introduction to Recovery Storytelling’ Workshop with Meghann Perry is part of the ‘SHE RECOVERS Through Self-Expression’ Workshop Series. Guided by leaders in women’s wellness & behavioral health, these workshops highlight holistic, creative and embodied approaches to self-expression that have the potential to redefine recovery, improve recovery capital, inspire hope, end stigma and empower women to heal themselves and help other women to do the same.

A Sliding Scale for Social Justice

We see our recovery as a gift. Social justice, personal agency, inclusivity and accessibility are at the heart of all our offerings – which also means ensuring our facilitators are justly compensated for their work. Please choose a ticket payment option that feels right for you.

Supporter | $119

The supporter payment option reflects the true cost of this workshop. If you have access to financial security, own property or have personal savings, you would not traditionally qualify for sliding scale services. If you are able to pay for “wants” and spend little time worried about securing necessities in your life, you have economic privilege and power in our community – this price is for you.

Sustainer | $79

The sustainer payment option acknowledges that paying the full cost would prevent some folks from being able to attend who don’t find themselves reflected in either descriptions for the supporter or community options. If you are struggling to conquer debt or move away from living paycheck to paycheck but have access to steady income and are not spending most of your time thinking about meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, medical care, child care, etc. – this price is for you.

Community | $49

The community payment option acknowledges that there are folks whose economic circumstances would prevent them from being a part of this workshop if there was not a deliberate opportunity made for them to participate at a cost that is reflective of their economic realities. If you struggle to maintain access to needs such as health care, housing, food, child care, and are living pay-check to pay-check or are in significant debt – this cost is for you. You belong here and you deserve a community that honors your contribution.

SPACE IS LIMITED - REGISTER TODAY

Registration / Cancellation Policy

Your registration / ticket for the ‘Introduction to Recovery Storytelling’ Workshop is non-refundable. If you are unable to attend the event live, a video of a pre-recorded workshop will be provided.

By purchasing your ticket you are agreeing to this policy.

Shelly Dimitrijevic

Shelly Dimitrijevic’s professional and philanthropic activities have always focused on improving the lives of others. She began her nursing career at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis and went on to become a LifeFlight nurse specializing in neonatal, pediatric, and cardiovascular intensive care.

Shelly has been involved with numerous charities focusing on children and education including the Charlee and the Chocolate Factory gala, The Venus Orbit, Design For A Cure, Jackson Memorial, and Impact Oasis. In 2010 she founded the Lotus program, a program that focused on educating parents on the nutritional needs of children and basic child development. Shelly also served on the Frost Science Museum gala committee for 7 years before Co-Chairing the event in 2015.

After a diagnosis of Celiac disease and subsequently receiving Certification as a Nutritional Consultant, Shelly recognized that topically applied products have an effect on her Celiac Disease and overall health. She turned her focus to developing skincare that was free of toxic and hormone-disrupting ingredients.

Since she lost her only sibling in 2012 Shelly has been determined to find a way to contribute to the recovery community in a way that can make a great impact and ensure that others have the resources necessary when they are struggling.

Shelly's substantial contributions to SHE RECOVERS of both time and resources have been instrumental and deeply appreciated.

Kirsten Newquist

As a result of being introduced to SHE RECOVERS through retreats and meet-ups, Kirsten will be starting her yoga teacher training in the fall. These retreats also led her to become more deeply involved with SHE RECOVERS in a volunteer capacity. Kirsten was instrumental in setting up some of the Foundation's grassroots groups and currently volunteers her time helping SHE RECOVERS Foundation to design and implement the Volunteer Chapter Network. Kirsten and her husband recently moved from Southern California to Roswell, Georgia to be closer to Kirsten's sister and two young nieces. When she isn't spending time being an aunt, you can find Kirsten hanging out with their rescue Labrador or exploring their new state.

Mary Beth O'Connor

Mary Beth is a founding member of SHE RECOVERS Support for Legal Professionals and is active at the local level with SHE RECOVERS in the Bay Area. Mary Beth has been living a sober life in recovery for over 26 years. She also has a history of trauma and abuse, from which she’s worked hard to recover as well. 6 years into her recovery, Mary Beth attended Berkeley Law. She worked at a large firm in Silicon Valley, then litigated class actions for the federal government. In 2014 Mary Beth was appointed an Administrative Law Judge. She recently retired, so she could devote her time to completing her writing and being more active in the recovery community.

She regularly speaks on behalf of LifeRing and develops relationships with organizations supportive of the multiple pathways approach. In August 2020, Mary Beth had an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, I Beat Addiction without God, where she described building a personal recovery plan by combining ideas from LifeRing, Women for Sobriety, and Narcotics Anonymous. In November 2020 she had an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I was a federal judge, and I support Safehouse. Here’s why. She is currently working on a full-length memoir.

Taryn Strong

Taryn Strong is a founder of SHE RECOVERS® Foundation as well as a trauma-informed yoga instructor, recovery coach, aromatherapist, and herbalist (and daughter to Mama Dawn). Taryn has developed a unique yoga retreat program and led over 40 yoga for recovery retreats since 2012. She is also the host of the SHE RECOVERS Podcast and most recently created and taught the inaugural trauma-informed SHE RECOVERS Yoga Teacher Training Program. Operating from a trauma-informed lens and a firm believer in anti-oppressive practices, Taryn brings an empathic and invitational approach to healing - empowering women to find and follow individualized pathways and patchworks of recovery.

Taryn's courageous vulnerability and passion for recovering out-loud has made her an influential voice in the global recovery movement - smashing the stigma often associated with substance use and mental health issues. Taryn creates and lives with her beloved and two dogs within the ancestral and unceded traditional territory of the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples (Saltspring Island).

Susan Carter

Susan is an architect of hope and healing with over 30 years of experience in providing executive-level leadership to heart-centered teams in the non-profit realm. Since joining SHE RECOVERS® Foundation as Executive Director in April 2020, Susan continues to weave her experience with her passion to help other women receive what she has been so graciously given – long-term recovery from substance use disorder, body image issues, codependency, perfectionism, and moral injury.

Susan’s work in the treatment industry quickly revealed how stigma kept women struggling with mental health issues and addiction from seeking help, and the lack of resources available to them once they did. Having served as a founding employee of Susan G. Komen for the Cure for 20 years, playing an integral role in creating the global grassroots movement that changed the way breast cancer is talked about and treated, she felt called to utilize that experience to do the same for women struggling with mental health and substance use disorders.

Celebrating more than 27 years of continuous sobriety, Susan is a Certified Peer Support Worker (CPSW) in the state of New Mexico to provide resources and peer support to those in or seeking recovery. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her fur family of four, Alex, Chaco, Bodhi, and Gracie.

Dawn Nickel

Dawn Nickel, Founder of SHE RECOVERS® Foundation, is a thought leader in the women's recovery sphere as well as an accomplished leader, dedicated researcher, and visionary in the recovery moment. She holds a Ph.D. in health care policy with extensive experience in researching and writing about women experiencing substance use disorders, mental health challenges, and intimate partner violence. Dawn started her own journey of recovery from a substance use disorder and domestic violence in 1987. She is also in recovery from anxiety, grief, trauma, overworking, and cancer. Dawn's tell-it-like-it-is wisdom has created a ripple effect where you will often hear her quotes "the shit you did is just the shit you did - it's not who you are" and "recovering from all the things" resonating throughout many recovery realms.

Currently working on her first book, Dawn is living proof that in a world where all women in or seeking recovery are celebrated, supported, and deemed essential to healthy communities - anything is possible. She is fondly referred to as Mama Dawn in the SHE RECOVERS Community and to her daughters Taryn and Ashley. Dawn lives, works, and plays with her beloved grandchildren on the traditional territories of the Lkwungen speaking peoples on Vancouver Island.

Nika is just one of more than 325,000 women in the She Recovers Community.

“Alcohol is what brought me into recovery but for me, it didn't tell the full story. That is why I love SHE RECOVERS so much. We don't just talk about our demons and the drugs and the alcohol, we talk about the real issues that led us to using those things in the first place.”— Nika

When she was ready to deal with her past traumas and what drove her to drink, SHE RECOVERS was there. Sadly an estimated 34 million women are suffering from mental health/substance use disorders.

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