Welcome to The Power of Stories Podcast – a podcast BY women, ABOUT women, and FOR women!
Stories connect us and inspire us, and in this podcast, women from around the world talk about their experiences on their personal path to empowerment. Their stories of resilience, of overcoming fears, and of pursuing their dreams remind us all that we are not alone in facing life’s challenges.
We are now in Season 4, and so very grateful to all of the women who have shared their stories, and so very grateful to all of our listeners, too! The idea to launch this podcast was Yodit Kifle Smith’s. Yodit is a dear friend who has worked with me on this website for several years. She describes herself as “a creative dedicated to making sure the voices and stories of women are heard” and I am deeply grateful to her.
We are grateful to Lisa DiGiovine, Editor/Co-Producer of The Power of Stories Podcast for agreeing to share her advice and expertise. Lisa is an Emmy nominated non-fiction producer, writer and director. Her many credits include writing and producing for CNN, E!, Dr. Phil, Discovery, The Outdoor Channel, Lifetime and NBC.
Many thanks to Cali Wang, too, for composing the Intro and Outro music for this podcast.
And, thank YOU very much for listening!
Sharon
The Power of Stories is a new podcast BY women, ABOUT women, and FOR women. In this podcast, we are inviting courageous women from around the world to share the experiences that are shaping their path to empowerment. In each episode, you will hear stories that remind YOU that you are not alone…stories about resilience, overcoming fears, pursuing your dreams.. AND believing in yourself. This podcast is hosted by… Sharon Kathryn D’Agostino, a passionate advocate for the empowerment of women and girls everywhere, and founder of the storytelling platform, SayItForward.org and…. Yodit Kifle Smith, a creative dedicated to making sure the voices and stories of women are heard. We are grateful to Lisa DiGiovine, Editor/Co-Producer of The Power of Stories Podcast for agreeing to share her advice and expertise. Lisa is an Emmy nominated non-fiction producer, writer and director. Her many credits include writing and producing for CNN, E!, Dr. Phil, Discovery, The Outdoor Channel, Lifetime and NBC. And many thanks to Cali Wang for composing the Intro / Outro Music for this podcast. Listeners can connect with us at SayItForward.org and on our social media pages:Instagram and Twitter: @SayItForwardNow Facebook: facebook.com/sayitforwardnow
Ilona Joy Saari, a former showroom model on Seventh Avenue in NYC, is a freelance writer who’s worked in many genres, from television/film to essayist to rock’n’roll press to political campaigns. She was a NY Deputy Press Secretary for President Jimmy Carter, a press liaison for both Jimmy Carter's Democratic Presidential conventions and has written many speeches for celebrities stumping for presidential candidates and women’s issues for the Clinton Gore campaigns and First Lady Hillary Clinton. Her essays have been published in newspapers such as the NY Daily News and others across the country and she is a past contributor to HuffPost. As the author of three novels in her series ”Mystery Chronicles of NY Women,” she is currently working on her 4th book for the series, titled ”Seventh Avenue”. Now living in Ojai California, she is the food and wine columnist for the glossy magazine, Ojai Quarterly and feature writer for the Ojai Monthly.
in this episode, Ilona discusses her first book, Freeze Frame, originally written as a screenplay and then expanded into a mystery book… her roots as a New Yorker who loves the city… writing her second novel, White Gloves and Rob Roys, a mystery about a young reporter and four older women, characters who had been on Ilona’s mind for many years… feminism and the women’s movement… the importance (and challenge) she faces in keeping track of the many threads she creates in writing her mystery novels… how her work in story development and television, especially as a story editor, made it easier for her to write her mysteries… persevering and not giving up… her gratitude for having a supportive husband… and the advice that we first understand what we want to do and then find other women who are successfully doing that.
You can learn more about Ilona Joy Saari’s books at her author website-> ilonajoysaari.com