Inspiration from Body & Soul

I realized two things while on this journey with these 13 brave women:

1. I have been extremely lucky. I have a loving family. I have not experienced violence or major hardship and I have always felt loved. This has shaped who I am just as much as the sadness and trials many of these women have gone through has shaped them.
2. The tradition of storytelling has been lost in our culture. The legacy passed on from generation to generation, the wisdom of our fore-mothers is no longer a part of our wired and fast paced existence. I lost myself in this production because I was overwhelmed by the opportunity to learn from these wise women. I was touched by their willingness to put themselves out their and face some of their own truths, publicly, for the first time.

The women themselves seemed so connected. They supported each other onstage and the "realness" of this play is what made it so impactful. These women are working through and learning from life just like you and me. They are learning to remove the burden of societal pressures and accept themselves – both body and soul. It was beautiful to see.

Now, they are celebrities in their own right. Pioneering and carving a niche for a new message and a possible trend in this type of storytelling. Here are a few pictures of me with some of the stars:

Me with the beautiful, talented, and tall-like-me Ann Marie Hasley.

The soulful and inspirational Glenda Klassen, the wise and youthful Jeannine Boucher, and me.

The luminous and remarkable Pauline Pattern and me.

These are only a few of the unique and amazing women I got to know. All of us who attended felt grateful to be a part of this journey. Thank you to the 13 stars, the playwright, Judith Thompson, for her inspiring and thoughtful interpretation and to Dove pro-age for making it happen.

Oh, and one more thing…we were hobnobbing! Check out a pic of my mom with Luba Goy of Air Farce fame. Yes, I know. A bit of an odd couple. My mom is very tall and Luba is very short.