I’m Katie, I’ll be your guide.
I developed this process after experimenting with story in my own life and in my corporate career.
While working with teams to build trust, I discovered how simple tools can help people tap into who they are.
I watched people connect and feel valued as they shared parts of themselves with others.
The experience I created would have helped me as I struggled to find a path back to purpose after losing my sister.
Today I share it with you.
I believe in the power of story
I lost my sister too young.
She died at the age of 37, the day after Christmas.
When she passed, it was a shock. My family wasn’t prepared and I went numb as we began the work that follows a death. Making plans for the funeral. Sorting through possessions. Finding pictures. Preparing to speak at her memorial service.
What I realized during this process was that I didn’t really know my sister. I knew her when we were kids, and I knew parts of her adult life. But I didn’t know what her favorite memories were. I didn’t know how she would describe herself to the world. I didn’t know what she had loved most in her short life. Those were things only she could have told me and she was now unable to do so.
I wished we had something to represent the culmination of who she was so we could celebrate her whole life.
That experience and the aftermath sent me on a path to find my own story. I learned how to boldly stand on stage and share parts of myself that I had previously shrouded in secrecy.
I wrote articles about story and developed tools that helped people find and speak their stories. I ran workshops that allowed teams to form and bond over story. I showed people that being seen and celebrated as a whole human being is a life-affirming experience. I got vulnerable. And it brought me here.
And so, today, I give this gift to you and to your family. Capture the holistic version of who you are and share it with the people closest to you.
This is for you, Tiffany.
The Lived & Loved Story
I created Lived & Loved because I believe in the power of story. Knowing yourself and sharing that with others brings us closer and makes us feel valued.
Knowing who you are, truly and deeply, can shine a light on the next steps in your journey and bring clarity to decisions.
I also know ‘finding yourself’ can be overwhelming. I’ve been there and read the self-help books and seen the lists of 45 things to do.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
My mission is to help people uncover their stories, have fun while they do it and come away with a beautiful finished product.
