Real Women Raw Stories
Four women, with four incredible stories to tell, are headlining the inaugural Real Women Raw Stories event, with inspiring and relatable stories of fitness, resilience, grief and domestic violence, where guests will learn practical skills to make positive change in their own lives.
We live in a society where high-functioning is an acceptable state of existence, but what’s underneath that facade is where so many problems lie. ‘Women are so good at being “fine”. They might have a good marriage, good job, and they’re busy ploughing ahead in life, but they don’t stop and think about how they really are. There’s a real need for difficult conversations to be had and this has been the driving force behind this event,’ says Real Women Raw Stories event organiser Moira Murphy.
Physical and mental health are the main messages from each of the speakers, and how the two elements helped them navigate towards a better future.
Lisa Fong from Christchurch-based Move it Mama is a proponent of physical strength improving mental strength. The mother of four little boys encourages other mamas through her online fitness programme to bring back their sparkle by putting themselves first and by training their kids that the 20-minute daily programme is your time, your 20 minutes. Lisa’s ethos is that creating a fitness habit can improve mental health.
Another speaker who knows first-hand of the need for strong physical and mental health is Christchurch senior clinical psychologist Julie Zarifeh, who lost her husband to cancer in 2017 and then, just 16 days later, her 26-year-old son died tragically in a rafting accident. Julie will be sharing her extensive knowledge on resilience combining academic insights with her own experience. In her recently published book Grief on the Run Julie writes how by getting herself moving she was able to have some influence on her own grief process.
Christchurch-based woman Annie Anderson will also be sharing her own story of grief, and how there is hope in the hard seasons. Her soon-to-be-released book Your Soul is Wintering is a vulnerable and authentic account of her grief journey as a result of her heartbreaking experiences with baby loss. Annie encourages people to live an exceptional life not in spite of what they’ve lost, but because of it.
Another raw story will be shared by ‘Tinker’ (not her real name) from Aviva, and she’ll discuss her experience with domestic violence and explain ‘How did I get here? How do I get out?’
Moira says, ‘It’s an important event for anyone to come to, because women are suffering and their lives could be more enriched and fulfilled by hearing other people’s stories. They could look at other people’s lives and say if they can do it, I can too.’
Real Women Raw Stories , 7 pm, 11 August 2021, at the McFaddens Centre, St Albans, Christchurch. Tickets are $25 each and are available from Eventbrite . Donations collected on the night will go to Aviva.
