Pearlette Ramos created a film set in nature to encourage more of us to tell our stories. Whether we create films like Three Extraordinary Women or not, Pearlette Ramos wants you to really seek out the power and growth of sharing your stories so that they can be impactful for others.
In my recent podcast conversation with Pearlette Ramos, she said:
“So often people will see where you end up – for example I am a lawyer – I live here and do these things – but they don’t know the journey you took and the struggles that you have gone through to get here. So often we just don’t share that. In sharing our stories is often where the blessing and the growth comes.”
Three Women Share Their Story as The Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
In the film Three Extraordinary Women three women share their stories with one another as they climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest Point on the African continent.
Who Is Terri?
Terri was 64 when she climbed Kilimanjaro. She grew up in Ramala and tells of her experiences of wanting to be pro-Palestinian in that environment. Her mom was afraid for her safety so shipped her to the US against her will when she was 14 years old. When she came to the US she was not told by her mom that she would have to quit school and go to work. She did this for the next 10 years. After that Terri went on to become a human rights advocate.
Tammy’s Story
Tammy’s mother was followed by a stalker and was murdered in front of Tammy. After this trauma, she and her sisters went to live with their father who was not too happy having to raise three daughters by himself. Tammy endured these challenges. She reflects on this idea of not feeling like she is enough in life and struggles with a sense of not being worthy.
Finally, Pearlette
Pearlette, the film’s director, was born in poverty and raised in the projects. Pearlette’s home environment was riddled with alcoholism, mental illness and domestic violence. Due to the trauma, Pearlette fled her parents’ home when she was 15 years old and moved in with an older brother.
Within 12 months she was pregnant, married and a high school dropout. Tragically, after living four short months, Pearlette’s baby girl, ChaviElle, died of acute bronchial pneumonia. Devastated by her daughter’s death, she channeled her heartbreak into studying.
She went to law school and after practicing law for 11 years, Pearlette went back to school and obtained a doctorate degree in psychology. She has raised two daughters, ages 27 and 36. She has now visited the seven continents and more than 80 countries.
Post Traumatic Stress
In our conversation, Pearlette shared:
“I don’t think most people know what post traumatic stress is. We live such highly stressful lives that we can desensitize ourselves to past trauma. Terri, Tammy and I – and I think many others in the world – were emotionally stuck in body – always guarded, always alert.
“Post traumatic growth is what we centre on in the film. We tell the story of what happened to us and also about what we made it mean. The transformation that happened after the trauma when we began to claim our voices, claim our power, and really live into our purpose. And how we make meaning of things/situations to honor our own lived experience. And how we can consciously narrate that as centring ourselves as hero.”
Make Meaning Out of Trauma
When I briefly referred to my lupus story, in our podcast discussion Pearlette circled back, “you mentioned what happened to you at 60 with your disease diagnosis. And then how did you make meaning of that? Well, you created a whole mechanism around that to help encourage and engage others. And we all have the capacity to do some form of that.”
Using The Power of Story
Ramos says that sharing stories inspires change “from Terri and Tammy perspective not just mine – the goal was to realize we can have an honest dialogue with one another, one where we can self-reflect in meaningful ways so that we can become the conscious narrator in our own story so we can help heal ourselves and help heal one another.”
Pearlette’s Personal Connection with Nature
When I asked her about her personal connection with nature, Pearlette replied:
“I grew up in poverty and had a TV. I was about 10 years old when I saw the legendary film maker Jacques Cousteau. Jacques was a researcher and environmentalist and filmmaker who had visited Antarctica in the ‘70s. I saw that documentary, and it catapulted me out of my child abuse and domestic violence life and allowed for me to hope and believe. I could see myself there. There was a lasting impression.”
Reaching Antarctica and a Deeper Level of Service
Ramos told my podcast audience:
“It took me 40 years but I reached Antarctica in 2018 – just shy of my 50th birthday, and it was there that the vision of the documentary was born. I became interested in a deeper level of service. I became a lawyer because I was interested in social justice and passionate about women’s rights issues.
“I was doing this around the world, but felt a deeper calling in a way. Gave myself the challenge to live life more deeply through what my mind and body were trying to tell me. Giving spaciousness to what this chapter in my life might be. And from that the desire to create a film was born. It really wasn’t about the film, it was about telling our stories, sharing our stories through the perspective of the challenges that we have.”
In the film, Ramos highlights the mountain as a character. The film shows the beauty, the rainforest at the bottom and glaciers at the top. Pearlette’s idea is to show how this experience helps us to connect more deeply with oneself and with nature.
Personal and Collective Kilimanjaro in Manitoba During the Forest Fires
The film is an invitation for you to reflect on your Kilimanjaro and ask yourself the question: “What is my personal Kilimanjaro?” Because we are so busy, we often don’t take the time.
In preparation for the podcast interview I reflected on this question and then shared that my personal Kilimanjaro is that I am in Manitoba, Canada today and there are forest fires all around us. So, there is loss, pain and heartbreak here. These days when I go outside, I find a tree, and I remember that this tree is cleaning the air and giving me life. And giving life to others and if it wasn’t for these trees we would not be here.
My collective Kilimanjaro: I recall Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s work that says if each one of us in the world planted just one tree for 6 years that would solve climate crisis.
Profound Connection to Our Own Inner Story
Ramos says, “There is a profound connection to our own inner story whatever that is – 90% of the people around the whole have experienced trauma. Many have experienced several forms of trauma. The power is what we make those experiences mean. How we do that – and create a form of alchemy in our own lived experience is magic. “
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going:
How have you created meaning for yourself and others out of your difficult lived experiences? Have you shared your personal stories with others? If yes, how has this affected your life and the lives of others?
