In 2009, I told a story I wasn’t supposed to tell. As a young adult, I had been part of a cult and we’d all been sworn to lifetime secrecy.

But those secret deeds done in the dark needed to come into the light. So, I dragged them kicking and screaming. And lots of other people joined me. I collected their stories and pushed for change on my blog, Recovering Alumni. It was authentic and real and it wasn’t for profit. It actually cost me money.

But we got the change. 🙂

Cori Shepherd Stern saw the value in this model both as a source for documentary content* but also as a vehicle to push media narratives and regulations based on marketing someone’s “lived experience.” Add a few back door deals with shady lawyers or lobbyists and getting in on the ground floor of the next big movement can be big bucks. There’s money in recruiting plaintiffs, money in PR strategy, money on the investors side…

*A panel talk from her business partner, Blye Pagon Faust of Story Force Entertainment.