13. Encouraging marginalized voices to speak their truth w/ Iris Imaginoria

Marginalized voices need space to speak their truth.

On the show today is Iris Imaginoria, director of a story-based theater camp, performing arts and writing teacher, cancer and mental health survivor, and parent of a gender-fluid teen.

In this episode, we rethink our definitions of success, especially in terms of helping kids, including those who have lost their heroes and others who think they can’t be creative.

She also shares her journey from dramatist to author and what prompted her to write a fictionalized version of her memoir where her younger and older selves have the opportunity to interact.

Iris then shares with us what she wished she had known before self-publishing her first book and what advice she’s received to help her correct course.

⚠️ Content warning: On a deeply personal note, Iris shares how writing has helped her process her struggles with cancer and mental health as well as suicidal thoughts that both she and her teen have struggled with.

What’s more, she reads a touching and inspirational excerpt from her book that encourages all readers to preserver because of what awaits them on the other side.

Get her books and plays:

•  Imagine the Key: The Rainbow Path, Book One, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QT6FD8Q/
•  Dramatic Wizardry: Collected Plays, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VWN1FY7/
•  The Day Tears Turned to Stone, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5NP9XH3/

Connect with Iris:

• Camp website: http://www.imaginethekey.com
• Links: https://linktr.ee/irisimaginoria 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IrisImaginoria
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IrisImaginoria
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irisimaginoria/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iris_imaginoria

Books discussed during the show:

• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• The Wizard of Oz series by L.F. Baum
• Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
• The Nightmare before Christmas by Tim Burton

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