Speaking Topics
Anne offers inspiring speeches and interactive workshops that audiences remember. Talk to her about customizing a message for your particular organization.
““Anne Bokma is a warm, engaging, and inspiring speaker and is confident onstage. Her reading was lively, humorous, and gave the audience a great sense of the topic of her book. Event attendees raved afterwards, and the event received a 4.7/5 star rating. I’d invite Anne back any day!””
““Anne is a skilled storyteller who draws in her audience and stirs the heart. I was left feeling inspired, challenged and my heart warm. Just brilliant!””
““With a generous spirit, Anne strives to know her audience and what might be most helpful to them. Her presentation is personal and informative, crafted with warmth, good humour, and an informed and thoughtful approach to her subject matter.””
“Anne is a wonderfully engaging speaker who gets to the heart of things with poignant insights about the spiritual quest and a welcome dose of good humour.”
“Anne is a wonderful storyteller and our group thoroughly enjoyed her talk, which was shared with humility and humour—as well as insight — into women’s lives.”
“After Anne spoke at one of our Sunday services, we invited her to return. She exudes a passion for her subject matter that creates a strong connection to her listeners. She draws them into her message with sincere eloquence and the warmth of her personality only adds to her charm.”
Signature Talk:
LESSONS FROM MY YEAR OF LIVING SPIRITUALLY:
A secular quest for a more soulful life
“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience,” wrote the poet Emily Dickinson. Anne shares her difficult journey of leaving a fundamentalist religion as well as insights from her whirlwind year of experimenting with two dozen spiritual practices—from singing to solitude to going to a witch camp and heading out on a pilgrimage—and how they taught her to live more attentively and authentically in the world. All of us are on a spiritual journey yet so often we neglect this essential aspect of our lives.
OUR GOLDEN HOUR:
The spirituality of aging
“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art,” said Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman who worked ceaselessly for human rights until she died at 78. The years after midlife, from age 60 to 90 and beyond, so often viewed in popular culture as a time of diminishment, can, in fact, offer a vital sense of urgency to our lives as we become more aware of the limited years we have left.
WHY YOUR STORY MATTERS:
The healing benefits of sharing our true-life tales
Storytelling has the power to connect us during a time when so many are divided. It can help heal our wounds and also inspire others. Self-doubt and perfectionism can prevent us from telling our stories. As the founder of the popular 6-Minute Memoir “speed storytelling for a cause” series, which has hosted more than 200 folks sharing their personal true-life tale over the years, Anne has learned a thing or so about the importance of sharing our stories — and why it's the real legacy we leave behind.
HOW TO FIND YOUR PEOPLE:
The power of community
“In all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other,” wrote the astronomer Carl Sagan. Today about 40% of people say they are lonely. People used to find a sense of community in their faith group, but today only one in five Canadians attends religious services on a regular basis. The decline in association with traditional religion corresponds with a simultaneous rise in secular gatherings that create solidarity, enhance personal growth and allow for the kind of transcendence we usually associate with religious feeling—everything from death cafes to drumming circles, storytelling gatherings and social action. Everyone needs a tribe. This talk explores the importance of finding yours.
LEAVING FUNDAMENTALISM:
Finding the courage to find your own spiritual path
Leaving the fundamentalist religion she was raised in was one of the most harrowing times of Anne's life. She was threatened with ex-communication by the church and her family believed she was going to hell. The resulting feelings of shame and guilt cast her into a spiritual wilderness. Her experience is not unique—it's the same for tens of thousands who feel trapped in repressive religions. Anne shares her personal story of finding the courage to leave fundamentalism, the impact of “religious trauma syndrome,” and how she achieved a newfound sense of spirituality, community and inner peace.
FAMISHED TO FULFILLED:
10 practices to restore your spirit in turbulent times
Spiritual practices can keep us feeling whole in a fractured world, serving to fortify our inner lives so that we can amplify our outer lives and be of greater service. But how do you find the spiritual practice that’s right for you? Anne reflects on 10 significant spiritual practices and how they can help us create a greater sense of meaning, connection, community and peace in our lives.
WORKSHOPS
WRITE AND TELL YOUR PERSONAL STORY:
Craft and deliver your true-life tale (2 hour workshop)
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you,” wrote Maya Angelou.
How long have you wanted to tell your story? How many times have you thought about writing it? What’s stopping you? Maybe you’ve tried to write it before and got stuck? Maybe you have no idea where to begin. Maybe you think your story isn’t important. It is. Your story is meaningful to you and to others. Maybe it’s time you wrote it down. Maybe even spoke it out loud.
This workshop is for those who have a story to tell but have no idea where to begin. Writing prompts and exercises are designed to for soul searching and creativity. Learn how to write your true-life tale and deliver it in a small group setting.
“Anne’s workshop ‘How to Write and Tell Your Story’ was engaging, interactive and a creative way to consider how to write a memoir. So much food for thought. Many participants who hadn’t previously thought about writing a memoir were catapulted into creating one from their own stories.”
TELLING YOUR STORY ONSTAGE:
How to deliver your true-life tale. (1 hour workshop)
There's been a popular revival of storytelling, fueled by live events, podcasts and radio shows like The Moth. This elemental art form represents an opportunity for writers to engage an audience in real time and a chance for them to hone their presentation skills. This workshop explores what makes spoken tales so compelling and what it takes to deliver a story the audience will never forget.
JOURNEY TO JOY:
Cultivating spiritual practices
Spiritual practices can provide us with a deeper sense of meaning, connection and peace. Anne shares the spiritual practices that had the greatest impact during her experimental year and encourages participants to consider the dozens of practices that can help bring hope and healing to their personal lives.
