Marianne McDade

“The truth may set you free, but first it might blow up your life. You owe it to yourself to see who you are on the other side of that.”

Marianne McDade is a Communications and Identity Strategist who helps organisations and businesses on the cusp of transformation, to better understand and articulate who they are.

Beginning her career as a journalist, Marianne has spent the past decade working in strategic communication roles across international research and development. Today, her work intersects psychology, human rights, and mental health, translating complex ideas into compelling narratives

Due to her own lived experience, identity and self-actualisation have been ongoing and central themes throughout her life. Recently, when a series of difficult personal events prompted her to confront and open up about her past, she began to reflect more deeply on the importance of honesty and honest expression during periods of radical transformation. Journaling was a part of that process.

At the Barcelona Journaling Festival, Marianne will discuss journaling as an act beyond writing, but rather a practice of truth-telling and self-companionship. Drawing on her own experiences working through identity shifts, grief, courage and change, she explores how radical honesty can be a catalyst for integration, healing, and living a more authentic and intentional life. She invites audiences to consider: if telling ourselves stories allows us to live, what is the life your story is creating?