Volunteer Storyteller Inspires Hope

Susi Wolf Storyteller“I understand Leopard.” Susi listens as a young man speaks in the halls of lockup. He approaches her shyly after she finishes telling stories, shifting up to her like a shadow ashamed to be seen. She never learned his name or how he came to be in those halls. She still doesn’t know, but he was Leopard and that was enough for her to understand him.

When Susi decided to become a full-time storyteller she was departing from her background in acting, clowning and entertainment. She felt a strong calling to her new occupation, despite the unconventional nature of her new endeavor, which holds a strong resemblance to the mystic Shamanism of the southwest. This sense of calling and purpose has fueled a passionate career of working with the marginalized and abused.

It was a sultry Texas evening when she told the story of Leopard. The African tale unfolds when a young Leopard cub goes out to play in the grasslands, but the elephants accidentally trample him to death. Hyena conveys the news of the young cub’s death and King Leopard is furious, vowing revenge on the elephants. But when he considers their immense strength and size, he relents. Still in rage and driven by bitterness, Leopard attacks and kills the weak, blameless goats grazing. So Leopard exacts his revenge, but he does it by killing the innocent. After the story the young man who identified with Leopard finally agreed to schedule a counseling session. He had refused to do so up until then.

Susi maintains that all stories are made of the kind of visions that force us to wake with a jolt from our delusions and behold, what is at times, the vividness of reality. But this vividness is only one ingredient of truth. Hope is the stronger taste. Susi continues to serve hope to everyone who listens to her stories, working faithfully at Crossroads for Women and other non-profit organizations for recovery and redemption.

–Written by Andrew Goodman, Volunteer Writer

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