Our stories are our Medicine.
We all have those moments that break us open. For me, it was the stillbirth of my son after undergoing a lat(er)-term abortion due to medical complications. Something I kept secret for years. I had once judged the act. Now, I know the love behind such a choice and the struggle it takes to come home afterward - not just to who you were before, but who you are now.
Sharing our stories has the power to create bridges and heal - not just an individual but a cultural divide. Now is the time for stories.
FEATURED IN
Nuance doesn’t make for good political slogans. So, complex concepts are trimmed into neat and tidy sound bites. But perhaps we need to consider the expense more. The language we use matters, and when the words we use fail to represent the truth we feel, we become emotionally disoriented. Internal chaos is created — which in turn exacerbates political chaos.
— Laurel Marlantes, the Washington Post
PUBLISHED EXCERPTS
Giving birth to death forces you to come to psychological terms with the fullness of life and hold, in one singular moment, the diversity and complexity of the human experience. Finding peace with this seeming impossibility required my brain and soul to stretch wider than I ever knew I could. Although the experience is horrific, it is holy.
— Laurel Marlantes, The New York Times
Look, no one has the answers to the big questions. Is there a soul? When does it enter the body? When does life begin?
It’s all so much more than just about a woman’s sovereignty over her own body. Yes – don’t get me wrong, that is and should be – enough. But it’s about sovereignty over your spiritual beliefs, too. The right to get to come up with your own answers to the Big Questions.
— Laurel Marlantes, Imprint; Moca Westport
WORK IN PROGRESS
Almost six months pregnant, due to emergency medical complications, I released my first pregnancy. It was a choice that came from the greatest love I have ever experienced.
Scared of being misunderstood and raised to never make others uncomfortable though, I kept silent about the truth behind my baby’s stillbirth for years.
Until that is, I began this work in progress, a 76,000-word literary memoir less about abortion and more about what happens after – surviving loss, developing your own spiritual compass, and what it takes to step fully into your truth. Own your story.
Written with heart, humor, and deep reflection, this completed manuscript takes the reader on a mystical, healing love story, giving the complex topic of late-term abortion a new voice.
EARLY READER PRAISE
“Laurel has both poetry in her writing and gives the sense that she is just a friend, telling you her story. She brings deep insights to the experiences of her life — most of which I found incredibly relatable and helpful to understanding myself more. She also is a master of her own nervous system and shares her spontaneous techniques as memoir. I found myself joining her as she inhaled and exhaled on this journey to becoming a fuller version of herself.”
— Genevieve P; Writer & Mother
“Laurel’s writing captures the raw, honest emotion from life’s unimaginable events. The reader can feel the depth and many dimensions of grief, yet simultaneously the sense of hope and peace that comes with acceptance and healing.e.”
— Michelle M; Engineer & Mother
WORK WITH ME
In shamanism, stories are medicine, and it is under this guiding philosophy I practice. Opening sacred space for my clients to be heard, free from agenda, to unburden and find healing. Be held and connected back to Love.
Sometimes the desire to tell our story comes right away, and sometimes we need years, even decades to pass, before the time arrives. No matter where you are in your journey, I’m here. To listen, to tend, to help you heal. And it’s an honor for me to do so.
