By Cynthia Bledsoe, special to Charleston Currents | I’ve been a storytelling lover now for more than 40 years. What is it about stories, anyway?

As a child I loved listening to family stories: stories about how my parents met, what my father was like when he was a child, and what my brothers and sisters did before I was born. That love of stories quickly moved into a love of reading, though my love of listening never died. When I found out that there are actual storytelling festivals where professional tellers spin yarns and stories that make you tear up and laugh until your sides hurt, I was hooked and discovered I’m not alone.