Up to 10 women. One prompt. No performing.

The next circle is being planned now.

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You might be the one who holds it all

The one who remembers.

The one who notices who’s struggling.

The one everyone calls, and the one who rarely calls anyone.

Somewhere along the way, a lot of us learned that being strong means being quiet about what we carry. That we should make our stories smaller, tidier and easier for other perople to hear.

But women weren’t built to do life in this way. For most of history, we gathered around kitchen tables, on porches, over shared work and in each other’s homes, where stories got told and burdens got passed around a little.

We haven’t lost the need for those places. Most of us just lost the places.

Story Circle is a way to start rebuilding them.

A small group of women, meeting online, sitting together with a simple prompt.

One person speaks at a time. Everyone else listens fully. No one fixes, advises or analyzes. You can share, or you can just listen. Passing is an option.

The next person that shares does so from presence and connection, not from fixing.

That’s it. And for many women, it’s the first time in a long time that they’ve been heard all the way through.

You don’t need a dramatic story.

You don’t need to be good at sharing.

You don’t need to know what you’ll say.

You only need to come as you are.

Why this matters

As a clinician, I’ve seen how much it changes a woman when someone simply listens to her, without rushing in to fix things or turning the attention back to themselves. Her body settles. Shame loosens. She starts to remember that she isn’t the only one.

Story Circle isn’t therapy. It’s older and simpler than that. It’s women practicing the kind of presence we used to get from one another every day, so we can bring more of it back into our families, friendships and communities.

What happens in the circle doesn’t have to stay in the circle. The listening, the patience, the permission to be unfinished: those go home with you.

Story Circle might be for you if

• You’re tired of small talk and want something real.

• You’re usually the one holding space, and you’re ready to be held for once.

• Parts of your story rarely get said out loud.

• You’re in a season of change: motherhood, caregiving, grief, identity, midlife, a relationship, or just being a person right now.

• You want to be around women who know life can be messy and meaningful at the same time.

• You want to help build a culture where women listen to each other like this as a matter of course.

  How it works

  • 90 minutes, online. Open to women anywhere.

  • 6 to 10 women. It stays small on purpose.

  • Gently facilitated. I hold the structure so you don’t have to: opening agreements, a prompt, story rounds, a short reflection and a closing.

  • Share or listen. Both count as full participation.

  • $40 per circle. Kept accessible on purpose.

Just a small group of women, a little time to slow down, and the opportunity to be witnessed

A note from cristen

I started Story Circle because I keep meeting women who are extraordinary at holding everyone else, and almost none of them have a place where they get to put it down.

I want to change that a few women at a time. I’d love for you to be one of them.