Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to lead a cohort of 37 women from 30 countries of origin through a storytelling practice I am certified in, called guided autobiography. I embed this method in the training and workshops I offer for companies through my social enterprise, Campfire Kinship, and I wanted to do this in the community as well. So I facilitated a series of collaborative workshops for community members to write a story about a transformative aspect of their immigration journey. In August, I published the stories in a book called Landed, Transformative Stories of Canadian Immigrant Women. It became an instant bestseller in multiple categories; including women writers, Regional Canada and immigrant biographies.

As an immigrant myself, it has been an emotionally fulfilling process to tell my own story alongside my co-authors. A large part of the immigrant identity is shaped by our lived experiences of what home means, what belonging means, and what community means to each of us. At times, this means confronting painful feelings of not belonging, or exclusion. However, I found that by sharing stories in a group setting, a solitary process of reflection was turned into a cathartic and therapeutic group process. I was able to discover, clarify, and reconcile my identity as an immigrant of 24 years in Canada, and crucially, I realized I wasn’t alone in my experiences. Although every participant’s story is unique, our life lessons are universal. Further, many of the writers in our cohort are not seasoned or professional writers prior to this book. For most (myself included), English is a second language. Yet, it was incredibly empowering to create a safe space to tell and listen to our stories with compassion.

I believe that creating this sense of community has helped us build deeper bonds with each other, leading to increased acceptance of ourselves and others whom we may not have thought we shared much in common with. Ultimately, it enriches our mental and emotional wellness in a beautiful way, that otherwise would not have happened on its own.

The project has also impacted other immigrant women who were not directly in this project. We had over 250 attendees at our sold-out book launch event. Many immigrant women personally came up to me and told me how meaningful it was for them (and their daughters) to see immigrant voices being celebrated in this way. Further, they shared that seeing us taking up space in this way gave them the confidence to feel like they can take up space too, in places where that is not always a given. Many readers have given me feedback already that the book has helped them dispel myths and better appreciate the range of immigrant experiences. This is the power of representation that I believe storytelling offers! It was also very endearing to see the family members of the authors come together in this launch celebration, beaming with pride and gratitude for our achievement as bestselling authors!

In an interview with Calgary Arts Development, who supported this project through a grant, I was asked about the impact of this project, and would like to include this excerpt from the article:

“The process of Guided Autobiography workshop as a collaborative and affirming process of solidarity, especially for the women involved with this project due to their common experiences of love, loss, and belonging as a collective and as individuals. “I do a lot of storytelling in a corporate setting. I help organizations use story-based training and media that empower their teams to become more inclusive and celebrate their diversity. When I’m working in a corporate environment, the stories shared stay within groups. It’s verbal. This anthology is giving diverse stories a physical presence and a permanence through paper and publishing. It’s also opening the doors to Alberta’s arts sector for women who may not have seen themselves as part of Calgary’s storytelling community, or even as artists themselves. It’s opening Alberta’s arts sector to a wider range of arts and culture making for a more rich and culturally diverse community of artists.”

“The women telling their stories in this anthology are from all over the world. Through the process of telling and writing their stories, they ultimately became a source of support and inspiration for each other. The topic of immigration was even more relevant given the war unfolding in Ukraine at the time many were writing their own stories. Many participants in this group have experienced wars and displacement. It was an honour to witness our cohort transcend all borders and uplift each other, representing 30 countries of origin, including Ukraine and Russia.”

Gayathri Shukla, Founder, Campfire Kinship