Seven Moments of Serendipity.

Lethan came to his life path of inspirational storytelling through what he calls “a series of seven serendipities” that touched his life, and by making the choice to be aware and accept what was happening.  That story is what follows...

The first moment of serendipity.  An unexpected calling.

In 1999, Lethan was a high school senior and brimming with plans for his future when a serious, single car, automobile accident upset his cauldron of anticipated events, caused severe Traumatic Brain Injury, sent him into a coma for five days, and started him on the journey of recovery.  Most of the plans he had anticipated either were scraped or had to be dramatically altered, and this left Lethan in a state of confusion about what to do next — what did he want to do with his life.  Though he had managed to complete high school and had started college after his injury, he felt no direction or focus in his studies.  Due to this academic wandering, Lethan  decided to take some time off from college to see what the world might offer next.

It was during this time of search for his future that Lethan was reintroduced to the art form of Storytelling through a performance by master storyteller Jay O'Callahan at the Alvina Krause Theatre in his hometown of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.  O'Callahan's presentation of his piece Pouring the Sun sparked a fire in Lethan and he knew he had to become a storyteller.

The second moment of serendipity. Finding the First Guides.

But how to become a storyteller?

Reaching into the recesses of his mind, Lethan was able to extract some dusty memories about the local librarians, Hal Pratt and Karen Roszel, telling stories to his school classes when he was younger – perhaps they would have some suggestions.  And so, the day after watching O'Callahan's show, Lethan went to the local library and saw Mr. Pratt at the front desk.

“Uh, hi, um...Mr. Pratt?  I'm Lethan...you used to tell stories to my class when I was younger.”

“Right, uh, Lethan...Candlish, correct?  What can I do for you?”

“Well, I...I decided I want to become a storyteller.  Is there any way you could maybe give me some advice?”

It is rare that a person can see the world change, but at this moment, Lethan was granted such an experience, for he is certain that the universe and reality shifted ever so slightly as Hal Pratt's eyes grew wide and every whisker on his beard became electrified.  “Ruth,” Mr. Pratt said to the other nearby librarian, “you have the front.  Lethan, come with me.”

Hal Pratt took Lethan upstairs to an empty conference room and began to shower Lethan with information about the depth and ancient history of storytelling as an art – explaining the struggle that exists in committing to such a performance style but how gloriously life affirming it can be for both the teller and the audience – how the art form is often misunderstood and minimized, yet how necessary it is for humanity – that there is no “correct” style or method of storytelling, but emphasizing the necessary Love of Story for anyone who wants to explore the art.  And as these words bathed Lethan's mind, and perhaps his soul, he knew he had made the correct choice to explore storytelling. From that moment Mr. Hal Pratt, soon joined by Mrs. Karen Roszel, became mentors as Lethan began the early stages of his storytelling study and performance.

The third moment of serendipity.  Journey Away from Home

And several months later, one late night at a smoke filled, 24 hour truck-stop dinner where Lethan found artistic inspiration amid bottomless cups of coffee.  He was working on one of his first original storytelling compositions when a trucker walked to his table.  “What'cha working on there, son?”

“Uh, this, well, I'm a storyteller, and I'm working on a story I want to perform.”

“Storyteller, huh? You ever hear of Johnson City, Tennessee?  They got a festival there all about storytelling.  Fact is there's a university where you can go and get a degree in storytelling down there at East Tennessee State University.  You ever heard of that?”

For Lethan hadn't heard anything about the festival or the school, and the next day he searched the internet, found some information about East Tennessee State University (ETSU), called the storytelling department, spoke with Dr. Joseph Sobol, and learned that they indeed did have a graduate program in the art.  This meant that Lethan had to finish his undergraduate degree, and so decided to reapply to the local university in order to finish a philosophy degree.  He chose this area of study because of the exceptional team of professors that filled the department – all educators who challenged while encouraging complex, creative thinking.  The degree was difficult but rewarding, and in the Spring of 2008 Lethan graduated with cum laude honors.  He was now ready to begin his studies in Storytelling at ETSU.

The fourth moment of serendipity. Discovery through Study.

Lethan had learned that a requirement in the degree program was a master's thesis project in which a student was expected to research, compose, and perform an original storytelling piece.  From the beginning, his accident and Brain Injury seemed like a clear choice of material for the graduate thesis story, but he had no idea how to compose such a tale, until early in his second year of studies when master storyteller Judith Black came to perform an artistic residency, and at their first meeting, on a whim that foreshadowed life events, Lethan shared that he was a survivor of Traumatic Brain Injury and interested in finding a way to compose a story about his experience.  Ms. Black spoke with Lethan, casually inquired for some more information, and the conversation moved on.

The following day when Lethan received a call from Ms. Black.  Soon after her conversation with Lethan, Judith had been at the local grocery store and she fell into conversation with the man in the line in front of her.  As fates would conspire, this man was Gwen Edwards, the director of the regional Crumley House Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Living Center, just 15 miles down the road.  Ms. Black had volunteered her services as a storyteller for the residents at the center, and had called Lethan to ask if he might join her for a performance.

Lethan and Judith shared only one performance together, but this began a relationship between Lethan and The Crumley House, where he began to present stories regularly while forming friendships with the residents that had its roots in sharing the experience of surviving TBI.  And so Lethan began to collect stories as research for his graduate project, and while conducting this research, he began to see  similar themes as were embedded within his own story of survival.  Furthermore, after interviews with family and friends who were part of his recovery process, Lethan began to see a common dramatic arc that exists in stories of recovery.  Supplied with this recognition, he composed his graduate thesis project, Who Am I, Again? A verbal college of stories about Traumatic Brain Injury.

The fifth moment of serendipity. Continuing the Journey.

The performance and accompanying thesis paper were a success, and in the summer of 2009, Lethan graduated from ETSU with a Master of Arts in Storytelling and the goal of inspiring survivors throughout the United States with his story.  Unfortunately, what Lethan didn't factor in is how debilitating difficult it is to make a sustainable living as a performance artist and public speaker.  For three years he strove to make his name as a performer and achieved moments of moderate success, sharing his performance piece at several brain injury survivor conferences, becoming the initiating event for the TBI Voices project led by attorney and activist Gordon Johnson, and performing multiple self-produced events whenever he could gather the funds to arrange a venue.  At every event, Lethan's storytelling was praised by all, but at the time there was no way to turn this appreciation into a stable income.

A new path for employment was necessary, and the roads of possibility are always infinite, but making the decision of which road to follow stymied Lethan's drive to take the first step.  Questions loomed before him – How to choose a path for employment that provides some financial stability while allowing for personal growth and enlivening experiences?  What's more, how to find this job considering Lethan's choices of education in Philosophy and Storytelling – degrees that are not often lauded as particularly profitable in terms of mainstream employment.

The answer arrived when Lethan visited the Philosophy Department at his undergraduate university and spoke with his former advisor, Dr. Wendy Lee.  In the middle of this friendly conversation, Dr. Lee dropped the fact that her son, a former classmate of Lethan, had just spent a year teaching English in South Korea.  

There was no intention behind Dr. Lee's remark, as she was merely sharing information, but  these few informative sentences lodged themselves in Lethan's mind.  A moderate, but livable salary?  An opportunity to see a new part of the world?  A new country with the opportunity of collecting more stories?

The sixth moment of serendipity. A New Journey for Asking the Question.

Fifteen months later Lethan was in a plane flying to South Korea and getting ready to spend one year teaching English abroad.  And one year became two, three, and more – moving from South Korea to China, making new friends, living a plethora of stories – life was happening, as it tends to do, in a manner that was never anticipated. 

But throughout this time, Lethan desired to continue his inspirational work with TBI, so he began to compose a blog filled with thoughts both about his time in recovery and reflections on living.  This was good, well written prose, but it didn't feel original.  Finally, Anna Isaeva, Lethan's then girlfriend and now wife, challenged him.  “Lethan, dear,” she said, “this is good, don't get me wrong, but...but I feel like you've said all this before.  You're just kinda repeating the ideas you share in your storytelling piece.  I mean, those are good, but they're who you were.  What can you say that's new?  Who are you now?”

And it was a powerful moment.  Lethan might not have seen the world shift in that moment, but taking in his partner's words forced him to answer her question.  And so another blog began, but this time, instead of providing eloquent, yet slightly generic reflections, Lethan decided to return to that storytelling work he had finished in graduate school, now nearly a decade past, and see what the words and ideas inspired in him with added years of maturity.  What did he feel about the recovery process Now.

The Seventh moment of serendipity. Finding Companions for the Work.

Thus began the four year project of essay writing and editing that became his book Who Am I, Now: using storytelling to accept and appreciate self-identity after Traumatic Brain Injury.  It was while researching and writing this material that Lethan came to recognize and create a logical explanation of how storytelling can be a beneficial tool in rehabilitation, particularly when addressing the struggle of accepting self-identity after TBI, a common challenge for many survivors.  This book and Lethan's writings have been been applauded by a variety of professionals who work with brain injury, praising both the candidly clear presentation of the experience of brain injury as well as the sound logic used to highlight the potential rehabilitative benefits of storytelling.  Sharing this book has also led to professional friendships in New Zealand and Australia, and as a team, these researchers are beginning a project aimed at how to best employ storytelling as a tool in rehabilitation.

Bringing us to Now.  

Storytelling as a tool for rehabilitation is a field of study that is just beginning to blossom, and while the number of studies are relatively few, the research to date has shared promising findings on the benefits of storytelling as a tool for reclaiming self-identity after a trauma

This story will continue, the next moment can come at any time, and Lethan hopes that you will be a part of it.  

Presentations and discussions are available either through video conferencing software or in person.  Lethan will share his ideas and performances with you, and looks forward to hearing your thoughts.

  Contact Lethan now to inquire about bringing him to your event.