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May 13, 2023
7:00-9:00pm
One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME
Meet the 2023 Storytellers
Dialmarie Silva
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Dialmarie Silva 〰️
My story is about a time in my life when I realized I was stronger than I thought! It shows a different perspective on how to look at hard situations and turn them into strength building moments. Instead of looking at the negatives which is where our mind usually reverts to, I highlight all the positives (which there are a lot) more than the negatives we would dwell on. This story shows the power that we hold as parents & how the love of your kids can refocus you on what is truly important ! My story is dedicated to my oldest son.
Taylor Kanzler
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Taylor Kanzler 〰️
In 2014, Taylor was living and teaching in Bogota, Colombia where she met Pablo. After a brief, whirlwind romance, she became unexpectedly pregnant for the first time. In spite of their nascent relationship, Taylor and Pablo decided to embark on the odyssey of parenthood and began dreaming of a future filled with travel and adventure where they would raise their son abroad. After a textbook pregnancy, including the typical battery of genetic testing, Taylor and Pablo welcomed a baby boy who arrived with the surprise of an extra chromosome.
Nicole Juntura
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Nicole Juntura 〰️
Attempting to breastfeed my second child has ushered in my villain era: a deep dive into how difficult it can be to climb out of the ragey, sweary hole of postpartum recovery.
Emily Wright
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Emily Wright 〰️
I am a mother through adoption and also married to an adoptee. Society would have you believe a certain set of narratives around adoption and through experience and listening to the voices of those less amplified in the constellation of adoption I have learned that it is not what I once believed it to be. There is beauty and joy in becoming a parent through adoption and there is a tremendous amount of heartache and holding space for grief, loss and trauma. Like all parenting it is not an either / or journey but a both / and sort of thing that pushes you to your edge and sometimes beyond.
Dr. Rebecca Brouillette
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Dr. Rebecca Brouillette 〰️
Rebecca’s story is one of a first time home birth mom and how her family was thrown head first into a foreign world when her son was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. Everything she envisioned about postpartum, about parenthood, was turned upside down. Through navigating feeding challenges to countless doctors appointments and postpartum depression, her family never wavered.
Paula Norcott
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Paula Norcott 〰️
Paula’s story is all about how 28 years of parenting five unique humans have included so many big lessons. Some that boosted her ego, others that squashed it with a brick. In the end, humor has been the very best coping strategy.
She is still smiling, mostly.
Meet our MC!
Sophie Saltonstall is a mother of two little ones, a farmer, a wife, and a sore loser when it comes to board games such as Settlers of Catan. She studied sustainability in school and was even arrested 3 times as a climate activist. She did get a masters from Harvard, but more importantly, her wallpaper choice in the bathroom gets lots of compliments.
