Ann marie Houghtailing

I’m a storyteller. 

I’m a story collector and a story listener

I was  born a story and when I’m gone all that will remain are the stories I leave behind. 

When I was a child, my mother set up a corner of our modest apartment to indulge my obsession with words. My writing corner is where I copied words from the dictionary and made careful sentences on lined paper.

Stories are how we make sense of the world. They have this exquisite, wild power to bring people together. My mother came from Hawaii and whenever her people came together they would say, “we’re going to visit and talk story.” No one just talked, they spoke the language of story.

Of course storytelling can and has  been weaponized for nefarious purposes as well because it is the ultimate instrument of seduction and influence. 

I’ve been privileged to help people in every industry imaginable  use storytelling as a tool of influence, compassion, and credibility. I’ve sat in circles of billionaires, incarcerated men, scientists, lawyers and accountants. Titles are utterly irrelevant. Because we’re all just blood, bones and stories wanting to be seen, heard, understood and remembered.