VOLVOX: Making Narrative Medicine Happen Alumni Speaker Series

Birth, Body, and Story: Creating Spaces for Collective Witnessing

Speaker: Miniya Williams, '25SPS in Narrative Medicine

Moderator: Rudy Malcom, '25SPS in Narrative Medicine

Birth experiences often leave lasting stories carried in both memory and the body, yet opportunities to process these experiences in community remain limited. This presentation introduces The Birthwrite Initiative, a community-based program that cultivates somatic storytelling through reflective writing, embodied practices, and collective witnessing for birth workers, birthing people, and postpartum folks.

Drawing on her work as a full-spectrum doula, Miniya Williams will explore how creating intentional spaces for sharing birth stories can foster reflection, meaning-making, and connection across the perinatal journey. Participants will leave with practical approaches for integrating somatic storytelling and collective witnessing into their own practices and communities.