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Natalie Garay of Ther•Happy Studios in San Luis Obispo and I have come together to bring you Stories of Mamas on the Central Coast.
“The truth is, in order to heal we need to tell our stories and have them witnessed...The story itself becomes a vessel that holds us up, that sustains, that allows us to order our jumbled experiences into meaning.
As I told my stories of fear, awakening, struggle, and transformation and had them received, heard, and validated by other women, I found healing.
I also needed to hear other women's stories in order to see and embrace my own. Sometimes another woman's story becomes a mirror that shows me a self I haven't seen before. When I listen to her tell it, her experience quickens and clarifies my own. Her questions rouse mine. Her conflicts illumine my conflicts. Her resolutions call forth my hope. Her strengths summon my strengths. All of this can happen even when our stories and our lives are very different.”
― Sue Monk Kidd, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter
The intention of this book is to share and witness the individual heroic stories of mamas in our community. Too often, I hear women say that they feel alone in their birth, loss, or motherhood journey. By sharing our stories, we learn how connected we really are.
This book will highlight the stories of amazing, local women through beautiful photography and storytelling, while also showcasing our incredible Central Coast community of birth workers in the “Providers section.”
Creator + Interviewer: Natalie Garay www.youneedtherhappy.com
Photographer + Videographer: Deedee White www.photographybydeedee.com
50% of the proceeds with be donated to GiveSLO a local women's organization for the month of May.
June: SLO Food Bank
July: First5SLO
August: RISE
September: Stand Strong