Chaya’s Story

October 8, 2008 …

It was as if the windows shattered into shards of brightly colored glass, spinning around the room. I felt so much energy in my body, I thought I might drill a hole in the ceiling. I rushed outside to breathe in more air and called a friend who’s a psychiatrist. When I saw him later that day, he said, “You had a panic attack. I could give you medicine for anxiety. But what is this panic trying to teach you?” 

I started crying. “No one knows me,” I whispered, “when I went to college I locked my childhood secrets in a box. I wanted to start over. Now, with my kids away from home, it’s as if the box has burst open.” 

After a long pause, he said, “Look around. None of your childhood secrets are here in this room right now. You are an author and teacher. You can go back and explore those secrets not just as the character, but the narrator who can see why each person did what they did at the time. Lots of people have stories they’ve locked away and are afraid to share. You’re in charge. Once you decide how you want to tell those stories, you can help others share theirs.”  

Since that defining moment in 2008, Chaya has embraced storytelling as a pathway for both personal and collective repair.

Chaya uses storytelling to bridge personal experience and public action. Highlights include:

  • developing storytelling software and teaching neuroscience-based storytelling to over a quarter million people—ages 8 to 88, in groups as small as 10 and as large as 1000—across six continents
  • appearing on notable blogs and podcasts—including Arlan Hamilton’s Demystifying Faith
  • telling their stories live on stage at the Barrow Street Theater and The Moth in NYC
  • television and radio appearances on CNN, Atlanta Public Radio, WNYC, AM New York, NJ Network
  • winning multiple teaching awards for their innovative approach to storytelling in education.

Currently, Chaya is completing Story Medicine, the book they needed when their world started to spin in 2008. Story Medicine shares the stories of eight people whose lives were transformed by telling stories from their own experience that they hadn’t told before, connecting neuroscience, personal experience, and storytelling practices and archetypes that have been used for thousands of years to build and repair our shared humanity.

“Chaya Barash’s storytelling is both compelling and accessible – blending vulnerability and strength in a way that invites the reader in. Her work challenges, inspires, and stays with you long after the last page.”

–Arlan Hamilton, public figure; Founder & Managing Director, Backstage Capital; author It’s About Damn Time and Your First Million