When Telling Your Story with Marti Statler
This episode is sponsored by Bloomerang, a solution that helps nonprofits like ShowerUp, which provides mobile showers and personal care for those experiencing homelessness. Thanks to Bloomerang, ShowerUp increased their volunteer signups by 60% and first-time donors by making it easy to give right on their site. ShowerUp's Executive Director, Paul Schmit, said, "Bloomerang is an ideal marriage of volunteer and donor management. The deeper we get into it, the more we love it." If you want to see how ShowerUp easily manages its volunteers and donors with Bloomerang, go to bloomerang.com/bearing-witness.
In This Episode
Giving voice to our stories, especially the painful chapters, can be a daunting yet profoundly healing journey. Many of us hold back, grappling with self-doubt and the fear of revisiting trauma. However, as Marti Statler, CEO of Rebel Queen Books, passionately shares, bravely articulating your narrative through writing can be a transformative act of self-reclamation.
To be clear, this path of healing is a choice. And if you do choose to reclaim your story, this episode is for you.
Statler guides us through the delicate process of unpacking our stories with care and compassion. She emphasizes the importance of cultivating a strong support system of "dream keepers" - trusted individuals who can hold space for you as you dive into the tender depths. Developing self-care practices, such as compassionate journaling, can help reframe perspectives and offer solace.
With authenticity and vulnerability, Statler opens up about how boldly owning her truth allowed others to feel less alone in their struggles. While revisiting painful memories can be challenging, she shares how giving voice to your story can forge deep human connections and personal growth.
This episode provides a roadmap for courageously exploring your narrative, even the most difficult chapters, with gentleness and care. Through Statler's guidance, you'll gain insights into creating a nurturing environment to safely unpack your story, one layer at a time, ultimately discovering the healing potential within your truth.
About Marti Statler
Marti Statler is the CEO of Rebel Queen and podcast host of The Rebel Maker. She knows exactly what she's doing when it comes to helping women get their books done and into the world. She has a "no BS" approach to publishing and problem-solving—along with her tenacity to make things happen.
Connect with Marti Statler
Rebel Queen Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook
Connect with Maria
Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email
Trancripts
Maria: Hello and welcome. We have Marti Statler here with us today. Marti is the CEO of Rebel Queen and the podcast host of The Rebel Maker. She knows exactly what she's doing when it comes to helping women get their books done and into the world. She has a no-BS approach to publishing and problem-solving, along with the tenacity to make things happen. I'm bringing Marti on today to wade through the complexities of writing your own painful and traumatic stories.
Maria: Marti, welcome to the show.
Marti: Maria, thank you. I'm so excited.
Maria: I'm so, so excited to have you on. I love your energy.
Marti: This is gonna be great.
Maria: You work with women—and not only that, you have this strong belief that women have the power to change the world. Why is it important for you to support women in telling their stories and giving them a clear path to do so?
Marti: I think it's super important. I'm a girl's girl, like a woman’s woman. I’m loyal to a fault—if I tell you I got you, I mean it. I think it’s important because we need each other. If we can just lock arms and recognize that we're all on a path—some of us ahead, some behind—we only need to be one step ahead to help the person coming up alongside us.
Maria: Absolutely. Why do you feel women are held back from writing books?
Marti: Because we hold ourselves back, for whatever reason. One hundred percent of the first-time authors I’ve worked with say things like, “Who am I to write this book?” or “Who’s going to read it?” or “There are already 47,000 books on this topic, why would I write one more?” It’s all limiting beliefs. We hold ourselves back.
Maria: I feel that so strongly. I care deeply about trauma-informed storytelling, and I’ll sometimes tell myself, “This is so niche. Who would want to read a book on this?”
Marti: But everyone has experienced trauma. Everyone.
Maria: Yes, and we’ve both read The Body Keeps the Score—which took me a really long time to get through.
Marti: Yeah.
Maria: It’s one of those required readings if you're going to try to understand trauma. I remember us chatting about how learning to hold space for trauma brings up your own trauma.
Marti: It absolutely does.
Maria: You said something on Instagram that really stuck with me. You wrote: “Tell your story, write it out. It doesn't have to be for the world. Write it for you. Then decide when it's time for others.” Coming from a trauma-informed storytelling perspective, I found that so powerful. Can you share what inspired you to say that?
Marti: When it comes to books, there are three parts: writing, publishing, and marketing. If you haven’t written your story yet, sometimes what’s stopping you is the fear of how you’re going to sell it. That’s putting the cart before the horse. You can’t sell or publish a book that isn’t written. Sometimes just the thought of writing is paralyzing.
So I tell people: take the pressure off. You don’t need to do anything except write your story. And when it’s done, then you can decide what comes next. Sometimes writing it—for the sake of writing it—is enough. It's a healing process.
Maria: When I was studying trauma and resilience, I learned that while healing often requires support systems, there are some things you can do alone—and one of them is telling your own story. That stuck with me. I’ve worried that encouraging people to tell their story might cause harm, but it can actually be part of the healing process. Do you find that’s true when working with women?
Marti: I do. I don’t care how healed you are—when you write your story, you have to relive it. You process thoughts and feelings, you remember who was in the room, what the room looked like. Even if you’ve healed, you’re putting yourself back into something painful.
Have you heard of compassionate journaling?
Maria: No, tell me.
Marti: My therapist had me do this. There was a situation I was really struggling to move past. He encouraged me to journal about it every day for five days—the exact same story each time.
On day one, I was angry, just pouring everything out. By day two, I noticed different emotions. By day three, I was processing things I hadn’t before. And by day five, I had completely reframed the story. I was more healed. And I noticed I even had a little bit of compassion for the person who had hurt me—which shocked me at first.
So I tell people: if there's a story you’re holding onto that needs reframing, try compassionate journaling. You’re not rewriting the facts—you’re reframing how you hold the story.
Maria: I love that. Reframing is a great way to talk about telling stories factually, but with empathy. When you're working with women to tell their stories, do you find they’re surprised by what comes up?
Marti: Oh yes. Many don’t realize the healing that’s happening until afterward. Writing brings it all up. Then you go through editing, and you have to revisit the story again.
I always say, don’t edit while you write—just brain dump. But later, when you edit, that’s when it can hit hard. If someone’s struggling, I tell them: text me. Go outside. Take a walk. Step away if needed.
If a part is too hard to write, just remove it for now. You're not ready, and that's okay. And it’s important to have someone besides me—a heart sister, someone who supports your goals—to be your safe space.
You need to recognize who your dreamkeepers are and who your dreamkillers are. Spouses, friends, even family—they’re not always the best people to hold your dreams. Find someone who gets it.
Maria: That reminds me of a silly analogy. When I was planning my wedding, I read an article that said: find two people who will say yes to all your ideas. I found two women who said every single idea I had was brilliant and magical—and I leaned on them. My fiancé at the time wasn’t that person, and that was okay.
So in this sacred work of writing your story, you’re right—it might be someone unexpected who becomes your hype person.
Marti: Yes. You need your hype girls when you are pursuing dreams.
Maria: Step one: find your hype person. Step two: find support for your nervous system and spirit. That might be therapy, meditation, walking, holding your dog—whatever grounds you. Because writing your story might be more painful than you expect. It will pull things up. Even if you’ve been in therapy for years, going back to that place, to that version of yourself—it can be hard.
Marti: Absolutely. Stories change lives. They change your life. They change the lives of people reading or hearing them. We don’t change because of facts and figures—we change because someone else’s story impacts us.
Maria: What part of your role as a storyteller are you most proud of?
Marti: My vulnerability. I keep it real. I go first. I don’t expect anyone to go deep unless I go deep too. That started privately with friends, but when I began putting it out publicly—on social media especially—it was risky.
But people responded. I can’t tell you how many women have messaged me to say, “Thank you. I thought I was the only one.” That’s what makes me proud.
So many women feel like they struggle alone. But when someone is willing to say, “This is what’s really going on,” it breaks down barriers. It creates real connection. If putting myself out there helps someone else feel seen and safe, then Front Street, here I come.
Maria: And there lies the power of storytelling.
Marti: Exactly.
Maria: Can you tell us about The Rebel Maker Podcast?
Marti: I’d love to. My podcast is focused on women writers, authors, and people in publishing. I pull back the curtain and offer value, resources, and truth for those navigating writing and publishing.
Maria: So, for the dirty dirty on publishing—go listen to The Rebel Maker. I love your podcast. It’s such a joy.
For folks thinking about writing a book or struggling to write one, how can they connect with you?
Marti: You can find me in all the places. It’s Marti with an “i”—M-A-R-T-I Statler. My business handles on Instagram and Facebook are @rebelqueenbooks. My personal page, where I’m most vulnerable, is Marti Bowling—like the game. My website is rebelqueen.co, and you can book calls with me there.
I love talking to authors, especially new ones. I’m not the right fit for everyone, and not everyone is the right fit for me—but that doesn’t negate the importance of the conversation. I’m always open to having that first chat.
Maria: I so appreciate your work supporting women in telling their stories—and doing it as a rebel. That’s exactly what we need. Thank you for holding space with me today, Marti.
Marti: This has been great. Thank you.
The When Bearing Witness Podcast is produced by Rustic Roots. They are video storytellers passionate about sharing the impact of nonprofits. From story ideation to beautiful and powerful videos on screen, they've got you covered. Learn more at Rusticroots.co.