November 5 , 2026 MAHONE BAY, NOVa scotia
Doors open 5:00 pm
Stories 5:30–7:30 pm
There is power in speaking.
There is greater power in being heard.
The Listening Room is an evening devoted to presence
The Way Back
Some things break loudly. Others disappear quietly over years.
A friendship. A family. A marriage. Trust. Faith. A sense of home. The person we thought we were.
And eventually, many of us are left with the same question:
Is there a way back?
The Way Back is an evening about reconciliation in its broadest and most human sense. Not simply forgiveness. Not pretending something did not happen. Not returning everything to the way it was.
Sometimes reconciliation means repairing a relationship. Sometimes it means taking responsibility. Sometimes it means accepting an apology, or realizing one may never come.
Sometimes the person we need to reconcile with is ourselves.
There are things we can mend and things we cannot. There are people we find our way back to and people we must learn to live without. There are moments when going back is possible, and others when the only honest choice is to move forward carrying a clearer understanding of what came before.
The Listening Room does not ask anyone to provide an answer.
It asks us to tell the truth about the journey.
Ten storytellers. Ten lives. Ten different understandings of rupture, repair, accountability, forgiveness, acceptance and return.
There are no panels and no debates. No one is there to convince anyone else of anything.
We listen.
Because somewhere inside another person's story, we may recognize something of our own.
And perhaps the way back begins there.
audience is limited to 50 seats
presented by:
The Way Back
An evening of stories about reconciliation, repair and what happens after something breaks.
There are moments in life when something changes and cannot simply be put back the way it was.
A relationship ends. Trust is damaged. A family fractures. We lose someone. We disappoint another person, or ourselves. Sometimes years pass before we understand what actually happened.
Then comes the harder question:
Where do we go from here?
The next edition of The Listening Room, The Way Back, explores reconciliation in all of its complexity.
For some, the way back may mean forgiveness or rebuilding trust. For others, it may mean accountability, acceptance, letting go, or learning how to live peacefully with something that cannot be repaired.
And sometimes there is no way back at all.
There is only a way forward.
Through ten deeply personal stories, The Way Back will explore the space between rupture and repair, between who we were and who we become afterward.
About The Listening Room
The Listening Room is a live storytelling experience built around one simple act: listening.
Ten storytellers share personal stories without panels, debate or interruption. There is no recording. Phones are put away. The audience is not simply watching an event; they are part of the room.
Every storyteller speaks from their own experience.
Every audience member is asked to do the same.
The Listening Room creates a space where complicated human experiences can be heard without immediately being explained, defended or resolved.
For The Way Back, we are asking our storytellers to consider one question:
What did you have to find your way back from—or find your way back to?
The answer may be another person.
It may be a family, a community, a place, a belief or a life interrupted.
It may simply be yourself.
THE LISTENING ROOM :
THE WAY BACK
THURSDAY, November 5, 2026
Mahone Bay, NOVa scotia
Doors open 5:00 pm
Stories 5:30–7:00 pm
There is power in speaking.
There is greater power in being heard.
The Listening Room is an evening devoted to presence.
❋ Intentional Structure
Ten remarkable Humans
Ten lived moments.
Ten reflections on resilience, generosity, reinvention, humour, leadership, and the quieter forms of courage that rarely ask for attention.
❋ Collaborative Energy
This is not a panel.
Not a lecture.
Not a debate.
❋ Expert Facilitation
Each storyteller will share one personal story , a defining moment that shaped the arc of their life.
A decision.
A turning point.
A moment of clarity.
❋ A Supportive Space
No scripts.
No performance.
Just truth, offered plainly.
Human beings have always gathered in rooms to tell stories.
Long before microphones and screens, people sat together and shared what they had lived.
Stories helped communities understand themselves. They helped people recognize one another.
Somewhere along the way, we lost that practice.
We replaced listening with reacting.
Presence with distraction.
Stories with noise.
The Listening Room was created to bring that practice back.
It is a simple idea.
A small room.
A handful of people.
Stories told honestly.
No debate.
No performance.
Just lived experience shared with care.
When people listen to one another without interruption, something shifts.
And every community becomes stronger when those stories are shared.
Photo courtesy of Betty Merideth
Less noise.
More presence.
Photo courtesy of Betty Merideth
Interested in Sharing a Story?
The Listening Room is not about polish. It is about truth.
If there is a moment in your life that reshaped you , quietly or dramatically , and you feel called to speak it aloud, we invite you to reach out.
We are curating ten women who are willing to stand in clarity, not performance.
One story.
One moment.
Ten minutes.
That is all.
Send us a short note about who you are and the story you feel ready to tell.
We are listening.
Big Ideas,
Real Impact.
Drop us a line and a short synopsis of your proposed talk and the topic that best suits your story.
The Listening Room:THE WAY BACK
Reflection Points for Storytellers
Presentation Topics 7-10 minutes
10 Reflection Points for Storytellers
Storytellers are invited to choose one or more of the following reflections as the starting point for their story.
Your story should be personal, honest, and rooted in lived experience.
There is no need for a polished speech.
You do not need to have the answer. You only need to tell the truth about the moment
The goal is not a speech or a lesson, but a lived moment told honestly.
The Listening Room: thE WAY BACK
Reflection Points for Storytellers
Choose the reflection that speaks to you most. Your story does not need to answer the question perfectly. It simply needs to be true.
What are you trying to find your way back to? A person, a place, a relationship, a belief, a version of yourself, or something else entirely.
What happened that made a “way back” necessary? What was lost, broken, changed, or left behind?
When did you realize things could not simply return to the way they were before?
What did reconciliation mean to you at the beginning, and has that meaning changed?
What role did accountability play? Was there something you needed someone else to acknowledge, or something you had to acknowledge in yourself?
Was forgiveness part of your story? If so, what did forgiveness actually look like? If not, what did you find instead?
What had to be let go of before anything could begin to heal? An expectation, an anger, a version of the past, a need for an apology, or even a person.
Was there a moment when you knew repair was possible—or when you understood that it wasn’t?
Who were you before this experience, and who are you now because of it?
What does “the way back” mean to you today? Is it a return, a reconciliation, an acceptance, a new beginning—or simply learning how to carry what happened differently?
In a world full of noise, this is a space for presence.
MAY 1 TBD times and presenters TBDArrive & Meet
As everyone arrives, we take time to settle in, get comfortable, and begin connecting with those around us. The journey starts here.
Check-In5 pm