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First Person: How Sharing A Story Can Help Build Community

Nanda Mehta is pictured in an undated photo.
Courtesy photo: Dinesh Korde photography
Nanda Mehta is pictured in an undated photo.
From the archive: As part of our First Person series, Nanda Mehta describes how speaking publicly about a taboo subject made her stronger and led her to encourage other South Asian women to share their own stories on stage. This episode originally aired April 30, 2019.

Sharing a personal story of loss publicly can be healing. It can help forge connections and encourage others to reveal themselves.

"The more you talk about it, it triggers memories, and you do get emotional and there were plenty of times where I did break down and cry while we're discussing it in the writers workshops because I was talking about each time that the (in vitro fertilization) was not successful," said Nanda Mehta, founder and director of Ahaana, a San Diego non-profit that cultivates awareness and acceptance of the South Asian culture

As part of our First Person series, Mehta describes how speaking publicly about a taboo subject made her stronger and led her to encourage other South Asian women to share their own stories on stage.

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The fourth Ahaana Festival featuring "Yoni ki Baat," a play in English by South Asian artists inspired by Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues," takes place on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Joan B Kroc Peace and Justice Theater at the University of San Diego.