The story before
Salem Story Series
I’m Shay, and I’m the grateful creator of the Salem Story Series.
When I was a young professional living in Boston, pre-pandemic, I stumbled upon a flyer for a storytelling organization called MassMouth. At the time, I was intentionally trying to find my “niche,” and the messaging for this storytelling event was serendipitous: “everyone has a story,” it read, and promised that if I shared mine, I’d “find my people.” Can’t ignore when the universe winks at you that hard.
Through storytelling, I did find my people. I became a regular attendee at MassMouth events, dropping my name into the hat and telling my stories on stages at Trident Booksellers and Club Passim. I met the most incredible storytellers, who have become lifelong friends and mentors.
I began to understand what storytelling can do. I learned the impact we can have on someone else’s life when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable on stage and how it’s always worth the temporary stage fright (which I still have, to be clear). I also learned that storytelling can be one of the ways we lift our communities out of Western individualism. We can “find our people,” as the flyer said, and that is worth so much.
Who is Shay?
I’m a 30-something person (he/him/they/them) who is still—always—trying to figure things out.
Professionally, I’m an ex-corporate cog who spent 15+ years in tech and marketing (and at one point, marketing for tech). The tapestry of my career got its glitter and diamonds during my tenure at Sephora, where I learned makeup artistry and skincare. Before all of that, I worked as a freelance writer and editor, pedaling words for companies I’d never interact with on any human level.
And now, I’m moving into a new field altogether: clinical mental health counseling, where I’m working toward my MA and, eventually, my LMHC.
Personally, I’m a sober, queer person with a lot of big ideas about how to help the little pockets of the world I’m lucky enough to inhabit. I moved to Salem at the tail end of 2021, and now live with my incredible partner, our three cats, and a handful of plants who have followed me from my homeland in northern New York.
Why storytelling? I say this often, especially when people want to talk about Salem Story Series, but I firmly believe that storytelling can save lives. I’ve come a long way from where I was, and this artform has always been there to help me through. It’s my turn now to offer the same to other people. If you come to the Salem Story Series, you’ll understand how.
