Healing through Personal Myth-Making

In her life and work, CIIS alum and author Regina Louise seeks to reframe the human experience through a mythopoetic lens through which pain is not a diagnosis, but a doorway, and identity is not fixed, but forged. Her powerful debut memoir, Somebody’s Someone, details her experience successfully navigating through more than thirty foster home placements as a ward of the California Juvenile Court system. Regina now works to help others explore healing through the power of words and personal myth-making.  

Join Regina and CIIS faculty Alicia Stephen for an inspiring conversation exploring personal transformation and how imagination, intuition, and personal myth can be essential tools for healing.  Sharing insights from her life and latest book of poetry, Unladylike, Regina discusses how trauma-informed healing, expressive writing, and modern myth-making can help us rewrite our stories and return to ourselves with authority, compassion, and radical creative power.

This conversation includes live audience Q&A. Books are available to add to your order at checkout.

Meet the Speakers

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Regina Louise is a speaker, teacher, poet, coach, and a member of the CIIS alumni community. She is the author of the memoirs Somebody’s Someone, Someone Has Led This Child to Believe, and Permission Granted: Kick-Ass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love, a personal growth book.

Her debut memoir, Somebody’s Someone, was adapted into a one-woman stage production nominated for two NAACP Theatre Awards. Her life story later inspired the Lifetime film I Am Somebody’s Child: The Regina Louise Story, based on her first two memoirs.

Louise’s work has been recognized nationally and acknowledged with a much-coveted Christopher Award—given to works that affirm the highest values of the human spirit—and the NAMIC Vision Award for storytelling on television that recognizes diversity in perspective and the richness of human experiences.

Her story has been featured on All Things Considered, Good Morning America, HLN, CNN, Book TV, Essence Magazine, and numerous media outlets. She is a senior teacher with the Hoffman Institute Foundation and lives in Southern California. 

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Alicia Stephen, MA, RDT, is a drama therapist, trauma clinician, educator, and trainer whose work integrates embodiment, play, creativity, and community-based healing. She is the Founder and Director of the Center for Healing Trauma, Director of Institute West/DvT–San Francisco, Program Director of the Miss Kendra Program, and a Senior Trauma Clinician at the Post Traumatic Stress Center at West Rock Wellness. She also teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies. For nearly a decade, she trained and worked alongside David Read Johnson, founder of Developmental Transformations. The Miss Kendra Program, a school-based trauma initiative, was featured in the documentary Resilience. Alicia is currently developing an original framework for trauma-centered work with children, couples, and families.

Important Information

We are grateful to our Bookstore Partner

Marcus Books is the nation’s oldest Black-owned independent bookstore celebrating its 60th year. Marcus Books’ mission is to provide opportunities for Black folks and their allies to celebrate and learn about Black people everywhere. Learn more about Marcus Books.

Accessibility Information

If you need to request accessibility accommodations, please email publicprograms@ciis.edu at least one week prior to the event. For more information, explore our Accessibility web page.

Recording Policy

Ticket holders will have access to an ad-free replay of the event for one month after the live event, after which unlimited viewing with ads will be available. Portions of the audio will also be released on our podcast. Only registered ticket holders who choose to watch live can participate in the chat and Q&A.

Attending as a Prospective Student?

Contact Admissions at admissions@ciis.edu to learn about complimentary tickets.

Refund Policy

All tickets and add-ons purchased for this event are nonrefundable.