Reflection

In order to understand the impact of the Richmond Story Exchange, organizers Hope Ginsburg and Elizabeth Johnson surveyed participants twice following the September 2024 event, once in October 2024 and once in February 2025.

Here are the survey responses from those participants who consented to share their feedback.

“It was a wonderful experience to share a story so personal, and to hear from others and find similarities in everyone’s stories, and to find out you are not alone!”

“This was a great experience, and a really meaningful way to become more understanding of other communities.”

“Often we imagine these great divides based on wealth and residence and background, but what we experience is a great sharing of human experiences. That is so valuable.”

“It was a wonderful morning of sharing stories, feeling heard and understood. It was a really unifying experience.”

“It never fails to amaze me how vastly different two individuals' lives and experiences can be when they only live several miles apart from one another. I appreciated everyone's willingness to share their personal stories.”

“The experience made real for me the lives of folks who travel different paths from mine. The confirmation of our shared humanity was deeply moving.”

“I have reflected more on the story I shared with my partner since that date, and I also think about their story and the lessons from it I could apply to my own experiences, including lessons on forgiveness, understanding, and moving on from past experiences.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to participate. I keep coming back to the embodied experience of holding space for the words of my partner's story.”

“Honestly, if more people participated in the Richmond Story Exchange (all over our country), I think we will be more unified as a nation and come to realize we are more alike than different.”

“This was a beautiful event among many people I knew, but then a whole room of people I didn't — totally worth a Saturday morning.”

“I met new people in my city doing magical things that I now follow. Their motivations were a huge reveal about what makes change at a community level.”

“The experience still resonates. I can still remember my partner's story and what I shared with my partner.”

“I have shared my experience with Narrative 4 at AJC with so many different groups or individuals, always marveling at how the approach led such different folks to commonalities within a very short period of time. And how important the experience with my partner turned out to be.”

“I really appreciated the responsibility and opportunity to be entrusted with something so personal.”

“The experience was incredibly moving…I felt as if I was looking into a mirror, deeply experiencing sorrow while simultaneously expressing great love and friendship.”

“I was able to get to know someone experienced and meet new people…I was able to open up more and share experiences with other people“

Richmond Story Exchange