Tucson Festival of Books

Storytelling as a Source of Healing


How does a writer rebuild a shattered life? Join Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Nicole Walker and Atash Yaghmaian as they delve into the restorative power of storytelling in the face of grief and trauma.


Panelists
Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Rachel Eliza Griffiths is a poet, visual artist, and novelist. She is a recipient of the Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award and the Paterson Poetry Prize and was a finalist for a NAACP Image Award....

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Nicole Walker

Nicole Walker teaches creative writing at Northern Arizona University and is the author of numerous books on topics ranging from the modern food industry to climate change. Most recently she is the author of "How to Plant a Billion Trees," a memoir about her survival of sexual abuse....

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Atash Yaghmaian

Atash Yaghmaian is the author of “My Name Means Fire.” She is a writer and a psychotherapist whose stories and articles about mental health and Iran have appeared in LitHub, Ms. magazine, The New York Daily News, The Mighty, and Thrive Global among others....

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Books:
The Flower Bearers
Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Random House
January 2026
ISBN 9780593730201
336 pages
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How to Plant a Billion Trees
A Memoir of Childhood Trauma and the Healing Power of Nature

Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Bloomsbury
February 2026
ISBN 9798216278894
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Writing the Hard Stuff
Turning Difficult Subjects Into Meaningful Prose
Nicole Walker
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Bloomsbury Academic
November 2025
ISBN 9781350518650
176 pages
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My Name Means Fire
A Memoir
Atash Yaghmaian
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Beacon Press
October 2025
ISBN 9780807020722
248 pages
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