Magdalene House: A Place about Mercy

7. Speaking Our Truth in Love

136 C h a p t e r 7 Speaking Our Truth in Love each time I tell my story, it’s healing for me. And what I have noticed is that every time I go somewhere and I share my story, somebody comes to me afterwards and says, “I have a daughter . . .” or “I have a sister . . .” or “I struggle with . . .” or “I’m in recovery . . .” So I know that me speaking my truth helps other people tap into their own truth, and that’s what it’s all about—me sharing what I’ve been through to help somebody else get through what they’re going through. And I guess I just hope that my healing process is attractive to other women and other people, and that sharing it makes them want to heal also. —kayla, Magdalene House graduate J ust as sharing stories is a healing practice within the Magdalene House community, sharing stories with other communities, organizations, and funders serves an important purpose as well. Spreading “the message of Magdalene” entails speaking at public events, publishing written material, and positing a vision of health and flourishing in which “no one is left to be condemned,” and it is “always wrong to buy and sell women.” Magdalene’s messages are anti-prostitution and pro-recovery, and they appeal to a communal sense of responsibility for the suffering and healing of others. In addition to combating discourses about addiction and prostitution that they perceive to be destructive, members of the community believe that speaking about Magdalene Speaking Our Truth in Love 137 has the power to cast a vision for what the world could be: a place where people love without judgment, care for their neighbors, support one another regardless of circumstance, and defend human dignity. Practices of Speaking In 2008, Magdalene residents and graduates spoke at over 180 events. Although most of the engagements took place in the Nashville area, the women also spoke to audiences in kansas City, Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and orlando. The events varied in nature and audience , but were usually hosted by groups connected to some aspect of Magdalene’s mission. Faith communities, university classrooms, local businesses, and women’s groups heard the story of Magdalene, as did individuals attending Thistle Farms home parties in Nashville. Typically, the stories that the women at Magdalene share follow a standard pattern: the speaker briefly recounts her experiences of being addicted, prostituting, and on the streets, then talks about entering the community of Magdalene, and ends with what her life looks like now. Michael Young (2007) describes how stories such as these capitalize on narratives of confession and conversion that are familiar to hearers in a culture that has been shaped by Judeo-Christian ideology. The Magdalene community is one of many organizations that use confession and conversion narratives to motivate change. These types of narratives gained political utility as early as the 1830s, when activists employed them to advocate for a variety of reforms, ranging from temperance to abolition. In particular, stories told by former slaves turned abolitionists closely mirror the stories of the women at Magdalene, in terms of reformers telling stories of victimization that are also about strength and survival. Furthermore, like former slaves, survivors of addiction , prostitution, and life on the streets ironically occupy a somewhat privileged position, at least in social locations where such persons are visible and included as part of the community, because of their personal knowledge of such aberrant experiences. ownership of this type of information gives storytellers a certain type of power and authority, and when told in the context of a conversion narrative, said authority is 138 Magdalene House | A Place about Mercy also moral. Describing this phenomenon in slave narratives, Francesca Polletta (2006) argues, “The assumption was that the story itself would educate the moral intuitions of the reader (or hearers) in a way that would compel right action. on the template of the Christian conversation narrative, then, slave narrators were moral guides. They were victims , but also heroes” (115). This phenomenon was evident during a meeting between Becca Stevens, a seasoned graduate of the Magdalene program, and the mayor of Nashville. Becca and the graduate, kayla, were talking with Mayor Dean about the city providing Thistle Farms with an abandoned building so that the company could relocate to a larger, much needed space. while sitting in the mayor’s office, high...