Michael Patrick MacDonald, author, professor of practice, community builder, draws on his lived experience and his work leading The Rest of the Story, a trauma-informed, peer-led storytelling program supporting people impacted by violence, addiction, and loss. Through facilitated restorative justice circles and writing practice, participants reclaim narrative control, build solidarity, and translate lived experience into leadership, healing, and civic action. MacDonald will offer a practical and human framework for understanding how storytelling can move individuals and communities from fear to voice, from isolation to solidarity, and from trauma toward collective healing and social change.