{"id":38495,"date":"2025-02-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/?p=38495"},"modified":"2025-03-10T13:50:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T13:50:06","slug":"will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

…It\u2019s love, light, and strength.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Write the book you wish to see in the world.”<\/strong><\/em>
~Ally Berthiaume <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I can think of no better example of how written word and story has the ability to transform the lives of people and communities than a play turned into global activism and sisterhood:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vagina Monologues <\/em>+ V-Day<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

V-Day is the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. <\/strong>Across the world, communities perform Ensler\u2019s famous play, The Vagina Monologues<\/em>, as a fundraiser, raising money to support local rape crisis shelters and one international spotlight on a community experiencing extreme sexual violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was something deeply personal and powerful to me about that first year I was involved with the V-Day fundraiser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I co-organized this event back in graduate school where part of the proceeds from ticket sales went to the local women\u2019s shelter and the rest went to the Democratic Republic of Congo where rape was being used as a weapon of warfare in their war-torn state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the show, when all of the survivors of sexual violence were asked to stand and be recognized for their bravery and resilience, I realized I was not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was <\/strong>the moment <\/em><\/strong>I stopped being silent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Before that night in the theater, only my therapist and a couple of friends knew about what happened to me three years before while I was studying abroad.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, I can see a distinctive shift. There was a me and my own personal narrative before<\/em> V-day and a me with a different personal narrative after<\/em> V-day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This event, this play, her words, were a part of my healing. They were a gift. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have always known I should work with books, and for a long time I thought it was because I loved them. I love books, words, stories. And writing is a natural talent that I\u2019ve nurtured and shaped throughout my life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I\u2019ve realized over time is that I also love people\u2026 especially the people who are here to make the world a better place.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And I sincerely believe the way we do that is through sharing our experiences. Our experiences connect us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I say \u201cwrite the book that will light up your world and ours,\u201d I say it intentionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I say it because I believe that when we honor our own stories and write them, we activate our own healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we write our stories and share them with others, we activate theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve seen this first-hand in the way that Ensler\u2019s work activated my healing and how my work, Dear Universe, I Get it Now<\/em><\/a>, has activated others.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more healed our world is the better off we all are. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Valentine\u2019s day, I want you to think about how your story could be the best gift you could offer someone else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026A gift of healing, empowerment, and bravery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your story could impact someone you don\u2019t even know in immeasurable and invaluable ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your story is love, light, and strength wrapped in a beautiful cover and sprinkled with a million tiny magical words that have the power to change someone.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, please. Honor your story. Write it. Share it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be brave, be you,
Ally<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.S. Check out The Vagina Monologues<\/a> near you and when you are ready to share YOUR LOVE, LIGHT, and STRENGTH with the world, let\u2019s connect in a Story Stroll<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":38497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[253,10,290,184,62,175,95,94,47,305,97,33,96,190,192,307,76,68,85,270],"tags":[40,51,25,53,26,28],"yoast_head":"\nWill You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story? - Ally Berthiaume<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story? - Ally Berthiaume\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ally Berthiaume\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-03T09:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-10T13:50:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Isora-Lithgow-Creations_-322-web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ally Berthiaume\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ally Berthiaume\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ally Berthiaume\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/person\/63bdcfee9d967f1947334cf30cebbd70\"},\"headline\":\"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-03T09:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-10T13:50:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/\"},\"wordCount\":598,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"getting started\",\"memoir\",\"personal story\",\"reflection\",\"Storytelling\",\"writing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Begin the book\",\"Blog\",\"Book Coach\",\"Domestic Violence\",\"Feminism\",\"Inspiration\",\"Lessons\",\"Life\",\"Memoir\",\"Memoir Writing\",\"Messy Moments\",\"Personal Story\",\"Reflections\",\"Sexual Assault\",\"Shame\",\"Storytelling\",\"Woman Stuff\",\"Women's Empowerment\",\"Writing\",\"Writing Memoir\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/\",\"name\":\"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story? - Ally Berthiaume\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-03T09:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-10T13:50:06+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/\",\"name\":\"Ally Berthiaume\",\"description\":\"Just another WordPress site\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ally Berthiaume\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Logo-Teal-Filled.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Logo-Teal-Filled.png\",\"width\":292,\"height\":292,\"caption\":\"Ally Berthiaume\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/person\/63bdcfee9d967f1947334cf30cebbd70\",\"name\":\"Ally Berthiaume\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de171aff36420fe033b9e09bc5eb29aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de171aff36420fe033b9e09bc5eb29aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ally Berthiaume\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/twprt_editor\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/author\/ally\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story? - Ally Berthiaume","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story? - Ally Berthiaume","og_description":"... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/","og_site_name":"Ally Berthiaume","article_published_time":"2025-02-03T09:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-10T13:50:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Isora-Lithgow-Creations_-322-web.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ally Berthiaume","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ally Berthiaume","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/"},"author":{"name":"Ally Berthiaume","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/person\/63bdcfee9d967f1947334cf30cebbd70"},"headline":"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story?","datePublished":"2025-02-03T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-10T13:50:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/"},"wordCount":598,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["getting started","memoir","personal story","reflection","Storytelling","writing"],"articleSection":["Begin the book","Blog","Book Coach","Domestic Violence","Feminism","Inspiration","Lessons","Life","Memoir","Memoir Writing","Messy Moments","Personal Story","Reflections","Sexual Assault","Shame","Storytelling","Woman Stuff","Women's Empowerment","Writing","Writing Memoir"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/","url":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/","name":"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story? - Ally Berthiaume","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-03T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-10T13:50:06+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/will-you-give-the-world-the-gift-of-your-story\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Will You Give The World The Gift Of Your Story?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/","name":"Ally Berthiaume","description":"Just another WordPress site","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#organization","name":"Ally Berthiaume","url":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Logo-Teal-Filled.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Logo-Teal-Filled.png","width":292,"height":292,"caption":"Ally Berthiaume"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/person\/63bdcfee9d967f1947334cf30cebbd70","name":"Ally Berthiaume","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de171aff36420fe033b9e09bc5eb29aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de171aff36420fe033b9e09bc5eb29aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ally Berthiaume"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/twprt_editor"],"url":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/author\/ally\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38495"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38495"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38567,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38495\/revisions\/38567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteplacerighttime.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}