Why Your Story Does Matter—And Might Help Change Everything

We’ve heard the dismissals before: “Your/My story doesn’t matter.” Or worse: “Storytelling can’t possibly lead to meaningful change - let alone a cure.” But history—and the human heart—say otherwise.

Storytelling is not just a warm-and-fuzzy pastime. It’s a battle cry. It's a strategy. It’s survival. Time and again, stories have moved mountains that science, policy, or protest alone could not.

Think of the HIV/AIDS crisis. It wasn’t data alone that turned the tide—it was storytelling. It was Angels in America. It was And the Band Played On. It was real people risking stigma and rejection to speak up, speak out, and demand compassion, funding, and research. Today, we have treatments that once seemed impossible. Not just because of labs—but because of lives shared through stories. Those stories led to awareness. The awareness led to funding and political willpower. The funding and political willpower gave the scientists the resources and the stories showed them where to look. 

Or take Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), founded by a grieving mother who told the story of her 13-year-old daughter killed by a drunk driver. Her story became a spark. Her storytelling became a movement. MADD changed laws, saved lives, and made drunk driving socially—and legally—unacceptable.

Then there are stories that take down giants. Think Erin Brockovich or The Insider. Those weren’t just courtroom dramas—they were real-life sagas where whistleblowers and citizen-activists used the power of narrative to expose corruption, protect communities, and change public policy.

But it doesn’t stop at nonfiction.

Sometimes the larger truths need help to be understood and heard. Films like Norma Rae, Silkwood, Philadelphia, and The Big Short didn’t just entertain—they educated, provoked, and helped shape public discourse. They translated systemic issues into emotional truths. They reached people’s hearts, and that’s where change begins.

You can push that further with science fiction. District 9 took on immigration; Blade Runner showed us consumerism, dehumanization and ecological collapse; RoboCop played with corporate corruption and the privatization of public services.

So when someone says “storytelling can’t lead to a cure or meaningful change,” they’re missing the point. Storytelling is part of the cure. Especially for complex, misunderstood, underfunded diseases like Parkinson’s.

Right now, Parkinson’s disease research is woefully underfunded compared to its impact. And as Dr. Ray Dorsey (Ending Parkinson’s Disease) says, “The Parkinson’s community is too nice. We don’t speak up enough.” That has to change. And it starts with learning how to tell the kinds of stories that will make an impact. Yours. Mine. Ours.

At Yes, And...eXercise, we’re not waiting for the world to notice. We’re teaching people affected by Parkinson’s—patients, care partners, advocates—how to tell stories that matter. Stories that inform, uplift, and challenge. Stories that may use facts, or take creative license, but always aim for the larger truth. To that end, take heart if you’re worried about sharing your personal information. You are absolutely free (and largely encouraged) to tell your story through aesthetic distance. In short, this means creating a gap between your actual story and the one you’re telling. You may create a new character, a new world and still endow that character and world with relatable problems. 

What does Star Wars have to do with us - being in a galaxy long ago and far, far away? It’s an impatient teenage farm boy who wants to see the world and is told no - until he is thrust into a save-the-princess adventure against the baddest man in the galaxy…who just also happens to be his dad. Setting what seems like a small story against a massive landscape (space) helps raise the stakes. At its heart, Luke’s journey is still a pretty simple, human story of desire for love, meaning, purpose, and belonging. 

You don’t have to be a filmmaker or a playwright to tell your story. You just have to show up with a willingness to dig deep and share your voice. The world doesn’t need another statistic—it needs you. Writing is work, make no mistake. Our Cinema Therapy programs are built to guide you every step of the way, even if writing is a challenge or a place that seems like a galaxy far, far away from your current reality. We are here to discover, explore and ultimately take on the impossible. Storytelling does exactly that. 

So let’s reject the silence. Let’s embrace the doubt and use it to our benefit. Let’s tell the stories that change minds, open hearts, and yes—maybe even help lead us toward a cure.

Sign up today to join our Cinema Therapy and storytelling programs. Because your story does matter. And because telling it could be the first round in the fight of your life—and the lives of others.

Upcoming classes include:

The Legendary Parkinson’s Pickle - featuring The Sandlot

Rise. Fight. Rock your story - featuring Rocky

The Shawshank Hero’s Journey - featuring…you know