Timing is an art form. In theater, we rehearse relentlessly so every light cue, entrance, and line lands precisely. But at conferences, where people fly in from all over the world and schedules run tight, that structure often gets lost. And when it does, even the best talks can unravel.

When I welcome new Mothertelling Academy members, one of the first prompts I give them is just one word: animal. That’s it. Nothing fancy. But here’s what happens — stories start tumbling out. Childhood pets, trips to the zoo, near misses with raccoons. Even when someone says, “I don’t have any stories,” that single word usually cracks something open.

For two years I coached other women through their stories — and somewhere along the way, I stopped telling mine. When I said yes to speaking at the Reclaiming Birth Conference, I remembered how vulnerable, terrifying, and beautiful it is to be the one on stage again.