When Fairy Tales Heal: How Magic, Storytelling, and Wellness Collide

Why You Can’t Miss This Fireside Chat:

In a world drowning in hustle culture, burnout, and endless doomscrolling, When Fairy Tales Heal is your official permission slip to pause — and remember the magic you still carry.

Mallory Backstrom isn’t just a playwright. She’s flipping the script on what fairy tales mean for grown-ups who crave hope, healing, and a real-life plot twist. This isn’t the bedtime story you grew up with — it’s a bold reminder that grief, anxiety, and chaos can be transformed into power when you learn how to rewrite your own ending.

And she’s not doing it alone. Joining the conversation:

✨ Dr. Bernadette, Medical Expert — sharing insight into mental wellness, resilience, and holistic health.

✨ Taila, Mindfulness Coach & Spiritual Guide — guiding us back to presence and inner stillness.

✨ Heather Byrd, Creative Arts Educator — showing how art and storytelling become collective healing.

Whether you’re a creative, a healer, a dreamer — or just someone trying to piece life together again — you’ll leave with tools, inspiration, and a fresh vision of what your Happily Ever After could actually look like.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS

MALLORY BACKSTROM:

Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom is the founder and creator of “Fairy Tales for Sunkissed Women.” A poetic worldbuilder, her passion for storytelling, diverse representation, mindfulness, and mysticism shines through the universes she conjures on the page, stage, and canvas. An award-winning playwright, author, illustrator, and teaching artist, Mallory’s play “Cephianne’s Reflection” received the prestigious L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award and the Jay Harris Commission from the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where she is also an Artist in Residence. She's an alumna of the Playwrights' Unit at Goodman Theatre, where her work has been developed in Future Labs and the New Stages Festival. Mallory has received the Chicago Esteemed Artist Award, the B2B Arts grant, is a 3Arts Make-A-Wave awardee, and a Chicago Dramatists Tutterow Fellow. She was the inaugural Sullivan Playwright-in-Residence at the University of Illinois. CineCity Studios, The Story Theatre, Sideshow Theatre, The Athena Project, The New Coordinates Theatre, and The Refracted Theatre Company have supported her plays.

“A craftsman of the English language,” Windy City Reviews praised her debut novel, “Reasons for Being.” Going on to say, “Mallory’s writing is as clear and beautiful as springtime in a meadow. You inhale the delicate natural musk to make it a part of your very being.” Her anticipated children's book, “Let’s Catch a Happily Ever After,” is the first in her collection of “Fairy Tales for Starkissed Children.” Mallory has lectured at the University of California-Davis, the University of Illinois, Devil's Daughter, and Illinois Humanities. Her art has been showcased at The Freedom and Movement Gallery and The Breathing Room.

Backstrom recently shared her whimsical presence in Williamstown, Massachusetts, serving as an Artist-in-Residence at the iconic Williamstown Theatre Festival. There, she continued shaping new worlds as a distinctive playwright while also guiding others, teaching, leading panels, and sprinkling stardust on everyone lucky enough to enter her orbit. She also debuted an early reading of her work-in-progress, Revelry of Ash and Loam, featuring powerhouse talent including Loretta Devine, Kevin Daniels, and Traci Thoms.

Fairy Tales for Sunkissed Women LLC

Where story meets strategy, fantasy is soul craft, and fairy tales become reality, because Beloved, you deserve to live Happily Ever After.

I am a publisher, producer, and creator. I craft small-batch products like soaps, bath teas, candles, and ceramics that inspire my audience to manifest their fairy tale lives. I also sell prints of my artwork, guided journals, and signed copies of my books.

Projects Coming Up

Fairy Tales for Sunkissed Women - A collection of short stories to nurture the feral and fecund feminine.

Let’s Catch a Happily Ever After – A Fairy Tale for Starkissed Children

Revelry – Williamstown Theatre Festival - Jay Harris Commission

Online

@fairytalesforsunkissedwomen

@pocketspiritguide

@MalloryRavenEllenBackstrom

www.MalloryBackstrom.com

TAILA DAVIS:

Taila Davis is the founder of Love Driven, a lifestyle and spiritual brand inspiring women to embody self-love, manifest intentionally, and embrace their personal power. As a Mindfulness Coach and Spiritual Guide, she blends astrology, intuitive insight, and ritual practices to help people shift their inner dialogue, release limiting beliefs, and step into the life they desire. Through her content, workshops, and digital offerings, Taila has reached thousands with messages of healing, empowerment, and transformation. She is passionate about guiding others to rewrite their narratives with intention, compassion, and a touch of magic.

Social Media:

Instagram/ Threads — @iamlovedriven

Featured Work:

62-Day Summer Glow-Up Guide — Available here: https://tailalovedriven.gumroad.com/l/mcdebf

HEATHER 'BYRD':

Heather 'Byrd', named a Living Legacy by Brooks Permissions, is an ancestral guided international award-winning poet and esteemed writing coach, and a catalyst of voice, story, and badassery. She is a giver of giggles and hugs, the queen of quirky and the author of the guided journal, Igniting Ink: 30-Day Writing Journey and her chapbook Mahogany: A Love Letter To Black. Byrd’s accomplishments extend far and wide, including being celebrated in numerous festivals and publications, including Cagibi, Expressions from Englewood, Hope Ignited, and Trouble The Waters: Tales from the Deep Blue - a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and Locus Award. She has been recognized for her editorial and curation of the diversity, equity, and inclusion edition of the “I See You” issue of the Cornell Report, earning her the International Anthem Award alongside industry giants like Google, HBO Max, BBC, National Geographic, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. In a world that needs amplification for the voices of women of color, Byrd ensures each person is heard, celebrated, and seen. Her favorite words are balloon and bubble.

DR. BERNADETTE ANDERSON:

Dr. Bernadette is a family physician, award-winning author, and respected authority in health and wellness. Her book, Fulfilled. 52 Prescriptions for Healing, Health, and Happiness, forms the foundation of her acclaimed Fulfilled. wellness program, recognized as the Most Innovative Mental Wellness Programming Provider and Best Mental Wellness Program—Midwest USA from Global Health and Pharma. Dr. Bernadette also serves as the Medical Advisor for the 34Gallery, an SDG 3.4 Mental Health Initiative, created by SimukaAfrica.org in partnership with the United Nations Volunteers. In addition, she is a freelance writer forGoodRx and pens thought-provoking articles and essays for leading publications. She has been an expert guest on several media outlets. For insights into living a healthier, more fulfilling life, you can connect with Dr. Bernadette viaLinkedIn and Instagram.