Flame Tree Story

E7: From Scarcity to Abundance—Stories of Water and Renewal

In this episode, we feature two more stories from our World Water Day storytelling event. Storytellers Melanie Joiner and Maya McDoom-Echebiri share how water taught them to navigate life's most challenging transitions. Melanie reflects on her time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, where water scarcity and a trusted friendship transformed how she understood gratitude and connection. Maya shares her journey through sudden job loss and the tsunamis of grief that followed. Through this experience, she learned to flow like water, releasing what no longer served her to become fully herself again. These renewal stories remind us that we must let go before we can to see the way forward, and that we have much to gain from life’s most challenging experiences. The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design [https://storyfirstdesign.com].

E6: World Water Day—Stories of Renewal

This episode of the Flame Tree Story podcast features two stories from our World Water Day storytelling event in March, where stories focused on the theme of renewal. Storytellers Hope Wilder and Nancy Luberoff reveal how water can be a teacher through life's most difficult passages—from navigating grief and loss to discovering healing and new beginnings. Hope takes us to the Eno River, where the ever-changing waters witnessed the end of one love and the start of another. Nancy shares how burial rituals can become sacred practices of honoring life itself. These stories remind us that water carries us from grief to healing, teaching us that renewal is always possible. The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design [https://www.storyfirstdesign.com].

E5: International Day of Persons with Disabilities Part 2—Stories of Acceptance

In this episode, we continue sharing stories from our International Day of Persons with Disabilities event, where storytellers explored what it means to be truly seen in community. Storytellers Carolyn Stuart, Indigo Dutton, and Danny Steis reveal how connection deepens when communities intentionally make space for everyone's unique contributions—from an incarcerated man finding purpose through training a medical assistance dog, to a music community that transformed itself so everyone could participate, to a room that created silence so one person's voice could be fully heard. These stories show us the power of being seen and the gift of purposeful presence. Hosts Whitney Fry and Mike Myers reflect on what it takes to create community where everyone belongs—and the healing that happens when we do. The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design [http://www.storyfirstdesign.com/].

E4: Stories of Belonging on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

In this episode, we hear stories from our live storytelling event on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, where each story focuses on the theme of belonging. Storytellers Jennifer Latham Robinson, Kelvin Scopey Mosley, and Tim Field explore what it means to belong to ourselves, to face our fears in pursuit of belonging, and to create spaces of belonging for those we love. Imagination, courage, and realization feature in these stories, revealing how belonging influences what we do and who we are. Storytellers remind us that belonging is both an inward journey and an outward presence. The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design [https://www.storyfirstdesign.com/].

E3: World Humanitarian Day Part 3 – Stories of Surprise

In the third and final episode from our World Humanitarian Day storytelling event, we explore one of the most powerful elements of story: surprise. These three stories—shared by Lisa Parrott, Mark Adams, and Jennifer Yourkavitch—invite us into moments that didn’t go as planned. These moments disrupted expectations, challenged comfort zones, and opened the door to deeper perspective and connection. Through humor, humility, tradition, and song, each storyteller shows how unexpected experiences can reshape belonging and reveal something essential about what we do and who we are. The Flame Tree Story podcast is produced by Story First Design [https://storyfirstdesign.com].