Meet Catherine

In the middle of the 20th century central New Jersey was a world of belching refineries, rumbling factories and foundries, all connected by the black ribbon of highway known as the New Jersey Turnpike.

It was also the place that Catherine Conant called home.

Populated by grandparents who shared the stories of their immigrant journeys to America and parents who lived through World War II, it was fertile ground for stories that spoke of a world much larger than a small corner of the Garden State.

Sentenced to a Catholic grammar school where the sisters ran a tight operation of unquestioning obedience and zero tolerance for creativity, Catherine escaped into the world of stories. Surrounded by kids fueled by Bosco and baloney sandwiches she spoke of castles and haunted houses, talking bears and girls who ruled distant planets.

As a teen she discovered the power of stories by sharing her carefully edited personal adventure stories, including just enough humor to keep parents breathing. When raising her own children she wove personal values into stories to illustrate them in action and guided their journeys from child to adult.

Today she shares stories for fun, for health and to support stronger family and community life. Over the past 15 years she has shared stories with such groups as the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, www.wcgmf.org, The International Festival of Arts and Ideas, www.artidea.org, the Jamestown Project at Yale, www.jamestownproject.org, the Spa at Norwich Inn, www.thespatatnorwichinn.com.

She’s an award winning writer known for her ability to guide others in shaping their life experiences into meaningful stories. Interested in knowing more about the scope and potential of oral stories? Catherine’s work includes coaching, workshop presentations, keynotes and performances.

If you ask Catherine Conant why she continues to share the power and magic of oral stories and she’ll always say;

“Listen to stories and you can travel the world. Tell your own stories and you can always go home.”