“Through the art of storytelling, we can preserve our heritage, educate future generations, and inspire change.”

PHILIPP HUMM


Welcome to where my journey started…

Whether you stumbled upon my site by chance or intention, I’m glad to have you here. As a storyteller, I’ve always believed in the power of stories—they take us to new places, stir emotions, and help us see our lives differently.

A Storytelling Journey

What sparked my love for storytelling? It was the eerie legends that whispered through the night—tales like La Llorona (The Crying Woman), El Cucuy (The Bogeyman), and El Chupacabras (The Goat-Sucker) that fueled my imagination. These tales of mystery shaped the themes of resilience and self-discovery that run through my writing and podcast today.

A Little Bit About Me

Born in the 1960s, I grew up surrounded by stories that sparked my imagination. Over the years, my career has taken many paths—from working as a police detective secretary to starting my virtual business support service, VA 4 Solutions. Now, I draw on these experiences in my work as an author and podcaster. My upcoming memoir, Gripped: Releasing Fear to Discover My Voice, reflects my journey of confronting fear, self-doubt, and the long path to trusting myself.

In my podcast, Growing Older Together, I explore not only the challenges of aging but also the fears we face and how to push through them. I’ve also been writing short stories, mostly in the horror genre, and I’m now revisiting and polishing those from years of work, exploring a different creative outlet. [Learn more]

Lourdes Valtierra Dirden

Storyteller & Writer

Books

Podcast

Growing Older Together is a short, easy-to-listen podcast where we share personal stories and experiences. In our first season, Echoes of the Past, Visions of Tomorrow, we explored how our past shaped our future. Season Two, Silent Struggles, Finding Strength in Our Fears, focuses on understanding our fears and finding ways to overcome them.

Each episode shows the courage it takes to face these fears and how doing so can help us live more fully. The episodes are under 15 minutes, making it easy to fit into your day. Guest episodes may run a bit longer, but never more than 45 minutes. [Learn more]

Blog

  • Trust Your Gut

    How do you fight predators, criminals, and con artists who have scammed you or tried to? By telling your story and raising public awareness. Here’s my story. For several months, I had been pursuing employment, maintaining a record of the companies to which I submitted applications. I initiated my job search on platforms such as…

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  • Hurtful Words May Have A Lasting Effect

    Life is full of positive and negative moments, but it’s the negative ones that sometimes take a heavy toll on you. Hurtful words, whether they’re stated, texted, or messaged, can tear you down. The words do not disappear. They continue to exist from the moment they are said, and they can have a lasting effect….

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