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Welcome to Healing Story Alliance
Founded over 25 years ago, Healing Story Alliance is an alliance of artists and practitioners who view storytelling as a healing art. HSA currently offers dynamic programming and online resources that promote healing of the self, society, and the earth. We are no longer a member-based organization requiring dues. We welcome anyone into our circle who is interested in the healing power of story to bring about positive change. Join our new mailing list to keep abreast of our offerings! Join our Listserv to engage in robust conversation on the power of healing story.
Upcoming Events
OARS in the Water Series
ONGOING BI-MONTHLY EVENT!
Keeping Our Oars In The Water:
Gathering To Bear Witness To Experiences
And Stories Of Vulnerability And Resilience
We’ll gather via Zoom. Here is the NEW link:
Hosted by Heather Forest and Noa Baum
As the season turns, join us as we explore wide-ranging experiences in nature and our personal relationship to the natural world.
OARS in the Water is a facilitated Zoom gathering on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month offered by Healing Story Alliance to create a listening space to share the experiences and stories that have emerged through turbulent times. This is not a therapeutic circle, but we do hope it will be healing, supportive and inspiring. Admission is free, although donations are deeply appreciated and help support our programming. Your tax deductible donation can be made here:
About our Hosts for April 24th
Heather Forest, PhD, is an award-winning storyteller, author, musician, and organic farmer. A pioneer in the American storytelling renaissance, she has appeared in theatres, schools, literature conferences, and major storytelling festivals throughout the United States and abroad since 1975. A modern-day bard, her dynamic fusion of original music, poetry, and the sung and spoken word brings multicultural folktales to life in the imagination of her listeners. She is a recipient of the Circle of Excellence Award presented by the National Storytelling Network for her performance skill and the 2021 Talking Leaves Award for her contributions to storytelling literature. An author of seven folktale recordings and ten folktale books, her published work has earned an American Library Association Notable Record Award, two Parent’s Choice Gold Awards, and five Storytelling World Honor Awards. Her musical monologue EARTHSONG won Best Composer in the 2021 United Solo Festival off Broadway. She views storytelling as both a fine art and a powerful tool for positive social change.
Noa Baum is described by the Washington Post as someone who “spreads cultural truths that eclipse geopolitical boundaries…”. Born and raised in Israel, Noa is an award-winning storyteller, author and coach focusing on the power of narrative to heal across divides of identity and build bridges of peace. She was an actress at Jerusalem Khan Theater, studied with Uta Hagen in NYC and holds an M.A. from NYU in drama therapy. Noa presented at The World Bank; Mayo Clinic; NSA; National storytelling Festival, Kennedy Center; USDA, and Stanford University. Noa’s memoir A Land Twice Promised won several awards including the Anne Izard Storytellers Choice Award. How the Birds Became Friends is her award-winning children’s book
NEWS! The Book upon which this concert is based has won a Storytelling World Award!
ABOUT the Healing Story Alliance Website
This website offers resources, guidance and practical applications for storytelling, revealing and reflecting the many facets of healing story in the world today and in the past. In addition to bibliographies, and links, there is a library of articles on Healing Stories and Storytelling. Our acclaimed Journal, Diving in the Moon: Honoring Story, Facilitating Healing, is available from 2013-2017 as an e-journal on the HSA website.
All authored writing on the Healing Story Alliance website is the copyrighted property of its author. These resources are intended for not-for-profit educational use. Any commercial use of resources on this website must be arranged directly with the author of the text or video.
Many are drawn to our site in search of answers or resources for dealing with the pain and tragedy of turbulent current events in the personal, social and global realms. This interest is addressed in our compilations of stories which we encourage you to explore.
- Healing Treasures: Stories intended to precipitate conversation, and guide teaching and healing with participants.
- Stories We Live: Personal stories and methods for gathering and applying life experiences as healing references.
- Stories for Children in Crisis: Compiled by Laura Simms, includes stories, articles, and links, drawn from years of research and professional work with children.
- Stories for Peace: storytelling in pursuit of peace and understanding.
- Healing the Earth: featuring stories contributed by storytellers working in environmental settings or on educational projects with an environmental theme.
HSA was a long standing Special Interest Group of the National Storytelling Network. In 2022 it became fiscally sponsored by Story Arts Inc, a NY state 501(c)(3) arts organization dedicated to the fine art of storytelling and to its educational applications. Story Arts is directed by Heather Forest. As a subsidiary project of Story Arts Inc., HSA functioned as a not-for-profit arts organization under Story Arts Inc.’s fiscal umbrella while establishing it’s own not-for-profit organization in New York State. In January 2023 HSA Inc. received IRS recognition as an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Healing Story Alliance Inc is now an NSN Collaborative Partner.