Notes from the Field
- ekatwrites
- Feb 26
- 4 min read
On Healing Circles and the Evidence-based Power of Story
With storytelling we enter the trance of the sacred.
Telling stories reminds us of our humanity in this beautiful broken world.
--Terry Tempest Williams
The semester has begun, and with it comes the weight of an increasingly chaotic world. The aftermath of the fires continues to reverberate, and uncertainty looms over what the turmoil at the federal level means for our local programs, our students, and the daily work we do.
Since my writing courses this semester center on The Power of Story, I opened our first class with a question: What’s a story you’ve been following lately? It could be from anywhere—books, film, social media, the news. Any story that’s been lingering in their minds, capturing their attention, whether through algorithms or otherwise.
More than a third of the class—37%—reported watching the news obsessively, consumed by coverage of deportation orders, the fire recovery, threats to their financial aid due to federal funding cuts, and potential reductions to Medicaid.
The distress is palpable.
Presence Amidst Chaos: Anger Isn’t the Enemy
I’ve also been hearing from many people who are sick and tired of being sick and tired– that they don’t WANT to live in anger.
Boy, do I feel that. I’ve been writing and re-writing this update, trying to find its center, trying to find my own presence amidst the chaos.
I, too, am distressed. I, too, am furious.
I, too, am fighting, as much as I can, to hold close to my values and do right by those whom I serve each day.
As poet Nikita Gill reminds us: “Distress is a valid emotional response to injustice.” But if we are to sustain the fight, we must also make space for all of it - for the anger, sadness, grief, and fear – but we can’t do it alone. We must find and create circles that hold space for healing, presence, and yes, even, joy; otherwise, we risk burning out.
Seeking Connection
I was deeply honored to attend two local healing circles this month, including one focused on our campus’s post-fire recovery. Both were rooted in holistic, integrative, communal, and somatic practices—sitting in a circle, creating space for sharing from the heart, listening deeply, holding space for each other’s pain and sorrows, calling in of histories and ancestors, and finding ways back to safety and security in the here and now.
At the same time, I have been preparing for multiple presentations, including Sounding All Voices: Creative Writing in the Developmental English Classroom at AWP (willI see you there?!) and another about our students’ work spearheading a community-based learning (CBL) project for a local environmental nonprofit. My colleagues and I have also been studying the literature on best trauma-informed pedagogical practices for post-disaster adjustment as we navigate our own fire-torn community. One study that has been on my mind, by Jaramillo et al., studied students from Puerto Rico exposed to Hurricane Maria and students from California who experienced fires/mudslides. They conclude: “Students who felt more of an altruistic community in the first weeks after disasters exhibited lower levels of mental health symptoms.”
All of this is to say that, right now, I am trying to find presence in community. I am also feeling some semblance of hope in the evidence-based idea that altruism is an antidote to trauma.
That storytelling—our shared narratives—is fundamental to resistance.
And that resistance is necessary in a world where megalomaniacs, fascists, or just plain ketamine-fueled, Mars-bound white supremacist billionaires, profit from division.
Be Angry, Do the Work; Connect, Create
The stories we carry—of resilience, struggle, and hope—shape how we move through the world. My father’s life, marked by both hardship and unwavering joy, reminds me that even in the face of anger and injustice, we have the power to choose how we respond.
With that, I’m incredibly grateful to the amazing, Heidi Frankl, for inviting me to write about anger for FYI50+, a bi-monthly publication that distributes across Dallas, Collin, and Denton counties. Writing this reminded me that anger does not have to be an emotion to struggle with, but to understand, harness, and transform into purposeful action.
“My mom often said, “No one ever has the right to take your joy away.” That wisdom has stayed with me, especially during times of deep anger and division. We have the right to protect our joy, to cultivate it in small, everyday moments.
Anger isn’t the enemy; it’s a compass guiding us toward what matters most. When we listen, respond mindfully, and root our actions in hope, we transform anger into a force for connection and healing. We can choose how to react—with integrity, compassion, and the belief that change is possible.”
You can read the rest here: Mindfulness & Anger
What Stories Can You Call In?
The stories I’ve been calling in this week are those of my father. While digging through some papers, I came across his naturalization document from 1956. I write and think about him often.
He was a gardener, a farmer once upon a time, a little boy who loved soccer. As a child, he joined the resistance fighters in the rural mountainous areas of the Peloponnese and engaged in guerrilla warfare tactics against both Italian and German fascist occupiers. The war disrupted everything and left him with lifelong PTSD. However difficult, he faced each day with open arms, that same impish smile, a deep drive to work for better, for both himself and his community.
My dad passed away when I was seventeen, due to the cumulative impact of lifelong PTSD, but he remains my personal ancestral pillar, a guide for how to live with joy, purpose, connection, and meaning, despite the deep physical and emotional pain life can bring.
Let's Connect
I'm excited to be learning how to host my blog here -- and I'd love to know in the comments below:
What’s a story you’ve been following lately?
Perhaps one that provides strength and hope?
In the meantime, I am wishing you peace, connection, and the strength to keep telling your stories.
With love and gratitude,
Katherine
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