About
speaker | author | mental health advocate
Hi Friend! I'm
Hi Friend! I am MacDana Selecon, or Mac. I founded MacDana Speaks, LLC to create a space for collective healing of trauma. I’ve been fortunate to hear many stories of trauma survivors who are professionals and entrepreneurs, unaware of the silent toll their trauma stories are taking on them. So I decided to share what happened to me, the long-lasting effects (LLEs) and my healing journey. I believe vulnerability is contagious and gives others permission to share and heal.
In my debut book Kissing in the Church: A Memoir, I shoved my ego to the side and told my story. What started off as a journal is now a bestseller exposing the truth of how ignored-trauma can lead to self-imposed trauma.
Share the story to change your story. Story-telling is an evidence-based healing tool. It can heal individuals and their communities. Best of all, it liberates the storyteller to change their story one day at a time.
"Without vision we aim at the wind."
- MacDana S.
The Why
The Why
I noticed glass ceilings in various areas of my life. In relationships including intimate, family, and friendships. In health. In my career. In the way, I viewed the world. I also felt a longing to fly higher. Through the glass ceiling, I could see a different world and I could hear its incessant whisper and that is when I started to bang my head against the glass. Much to my surprise, the glass cracked. The fracture elongated and just like that, it was raining glass in all areas of my life.
I refer to the glass ceilings as the LLEs (Long-Lasting Effects). The LLEs result from trauma. My earliest trauma was when my parents abruptly split due to domestic violence and I was abandoned at a distant relative’s home in Miami, FL for nearly a year. The LLE from that was fear of abandonment. It manifested in many of my intimate partner relationships. I lived in fear my partners would leave me. It took me many years to name my fear or make the connection. This LLE became my glass ceiling. I was unable to experience healthy intimate partner relationships.
However, through simple baby steps in the right direction, I was able to change my life and thrive. EVERYONE experiences trauma. Identification with traumatic events can limit us from being and manifesting.
I believe vulnerability through storytelling is a healing tool. It gives insight to both storyteller and listener. Insight illuminates the road to change. Storytelling provokes dialogue. I envision a world where stories of trauma are shared without shame or explanation. A world where glass ceilings rain.
The Fix
The Fix
More indepth questions
get to know macdana a bit more
After the release of my book, “Kissing in the Church” the school (University of San Francisco) I was attending invited me to speak at a Brown Bag event where I presented “Healing Your Story Through Storytelling.” That talk had a positive response and led to another event for a different department. Soon I was invited to speak at a local church in Oakland CA. In July 2021 I registered MacDana Speaks LLC as an official company and booked my first paid speaking engagement with Minnesota Children’s Hospital. That talk “Building Our Resilience” was a hit amongst their patient care teams, I was invited to do it 5 more times. My last talk about diversity, equity and inclusivity was also well received.
Creativity for my inner child to express that which can’t be summed up with only words. Balance to give space for play and growth. Respect for my mind. I believe this to be my greatest asset.
Wrote and produced 2 stage plays in the Bay Area. Published “Kissing in the Church: A Memoir.”
- Amazing Salsa and Bachata Dancer.
- I speak Haitian Creole.
- Favorite movie: The Notebook
