community
every action, reaction, and choice begins and ends with our stories
What I've learned from almost two decades of humanitarian service is that there is power in speaking our stories out loud and sharing them with each other.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that healing is personal and a burden we must carry on our own. But as human beings we are hardwired for connection. This means that healing actually happens in the collective — a feeling of common humanity that only emerges when we bring our experiences into the presence of others who understand. I wrote Tell Me My Story to name the wounds honestly — vicarious trauma, moral injury, institutional betrayal, systemic grief — and to begin moving through them. But reading alone only takes us so far.
Community conversations and writing circles create something different.
They don't require much preparation. They make space for our lived experiences — personal and professional. And they give us opportunities to practice the things that matter most right now: empathy, cultural humility, listening, courage, vulnerability, and healing.
These offerings are where that practice happens.
"Part story, part manifesto, Tell Me My Story is a fully moving account of what it means — and what it costs — to be a humanitarian. In telling her story, she has told parts of all our stories."
— Rebecca Dempster, PhD, Founder, Resileo
tell me my story community conversations
a monthly conversation with Dimple
Join me once a month when I open the door to a live 90-minute community conversation about Tell Me My Story — for anyone who has read it and wants to go deeper together.
This isn't a lecture or a summary. It's a conversation — the kind I always envisioned the book opening. Bring your questions, your reactions, your stories, and your experiences. This is direct access to the author, in a small group of no more than ten people, to talk about what the book surfaced for you, and what it means to be of service in an era of polycrisis.
What's included:
90-minute live community conversation via Zoom
Open enrollment — no prior preparation required beyond having read the book
Small group — 12 participants maximum
Join the waitlist to be notified of upcoming community conversations
Have your own group? I'm happy to bring the conversation to you — in person or on Zoom
challenging the narrative writing groups
story-healing as practice
Working in service of others can be rewarding and provide opportunities to connect to a greater purpose. And any work that impacts the lives of other human beings is messy and challenging — and can leave you feeling depleted and susceptible to occupational traumas that are unique to people working in mission-driven sectors.
Writing is one of the most powerful tools we have for working through those experiences.
Putting pen to paper helps us re-evaluate our experiences by looking at them from different perspectives, ease the emotional pressure of what we've been carrying, and begin to move toward healing complex emotions — loss of trust, grief, demoralization, fury, shame, guilt, and despair — in order to preserve our own humanity and reconnect to hope and purpose.
Writing is one of the most powerful tools we have for working through those experiences.
Challenging the Narrative Community Writing Circles are guided journeys through each section of Tell Me My Story, ending in your own story. We write together. We share together. We witness each other. The book serves as a framework and a companion, but the real insights come from the community we build together.
You don't need to be a writer — and previous writing experience is not required. This is story-healing as practice. Not a workshop or lecture, but a brave space where you’ll find support and encouragement as you dive deeper into your own shaping and surviving stories. You’ll walk away from this experience with a better understanding of how your beliefs and values shaped your service, relationships, and way of being in the world, what gets in the way of you being the fullest version of yourself, and how you can begin to shift some of those stories for the better.
This is a trauma-informed space — you will never be required to share the details of the personal experiences you write about, but you will be invited to share any thoughts, perspectives, and insights that emerge from your writing in community with others doing the same.
What's included:
6 weekly sessions (90 minutes each, via Zoom)
Weekly integration journal + guide with writing prompts aligned with each section of the book
Facilitated sharing and collective witnessing — trauma-informed throughout
A specially curated writing kit
A signed copy of Tell Me My Story
Because story-healing requires trust, and trust requires space each circle is limited to 6–8 participants maximum
$550 per person
A limited number of mutual aid spots available for those experiencing financial hardship — inquire when you reach out.
Join the waitlist to be notified about upcoming community writing circles.
a note on group size and pace
All community offerings are small by design. There is no version of story-healing that works at scale — trust requires time, and witness requires intimacy. These are not webinars. They are not courses you move through at your own pace in isolation. They are live, relational, and deliberately unhurried.
If you are interested in bringing the Challenging the Narrative Community Writing Circles to your organization or team as a private experience, that is available. Private groups can be scheduled on a timeline that works for your organization and are designed to meet the specific context of your work or challenges.