Every so often, you see an Australian director or writer talking in the press about how we need to resist the power of Hollywood and ‘tell our stories’. It all seems very worthy and virtuous, like asking people to eat broccoli, and when I hear someone say ‘tell our stories’, I sort of want to throw up.

Photo © Sincerely Media/Unsplash

But I think I might have changed my mind. On the Central Coast in NSW where I live, writer Adrienne Ferreira and her actor husband Rob Carlton have created Bravewords Live. On the last Sunday of each month, an audience turns up to hear six people read a 2,000-word story about something that has happened in their lives. It could be amusing, it could be heart-wrenching, it could be both; the only stipulation is that it be true.

Adrienne runs a course that encourages new and experienced writers to put finger to laptop to share an important personal event. These public readings confirm that every human is full of stories of triumph and disappointment. Each of us is a veritable feature film walking around on two legs –...