Anne Hamilton
After Certainty: Who are we after our story falls apart?
I am a keynote speaker, filmmaker, cancer survivor, and Stanford-trained philosopher exploring how people reconstruct identity when the stories that once organized their lives no longer make sense.
In addition to my writing and speaking, I am also the founder of Saltstar Studio, a storytelling and education company exploring how narrative, philosophy, and human connection help us heal, grow, and create lives that feel authentic after profound change. I am also the co-founder of the Survivorship Collective Charity, a nonprofit supporting people navigating life after a cancer diagnosis through community, meaning-making, and transformative experiences.
Across all of my work, I return to the same question:
Who are we after our story falls apart?
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After Certainty: Who are we after our story falls apart?
What happens when the assumptions that once organized our lives no longer hold? This talk explores identity, uncertainty, and the challenge of creating a life that feels authentic after profound change.
Film, Storytelling, and the Search for Meaning
Stories do more than entertain us. They help us understand who we are. This talk examines the power of storytelling to shape identity, create empathy, and illuminate what it means to be human.
Creating Community After Certainty
Major life transitions often leave people feeling isolated from their former identities and communities. This talk explores why belonging matters and how meaningful communities help us navigate change.
Serious Illness and the Reconstruction of Self
A cancer diagnosis changes more than a body. It can alter identity, relationships, priorities, and one's sense of the future. This talk explores survivorship as an identity transition rather than simply a medical one.
The Stories We Live By
Human beings make sense of their lives through story. This talk explores how narratives shape identity, why certain stories liberate us while others constrain us, and what happens when the story no longer fits.
Nature, Belonging, and the Human Spirit
In an increasingly disconnected world, many people are searching for a deeper sense of belonging. This talk explores the relationship between nature, identity, community, and human flourishing.
After Certainty: Living Beyond the Illusion of Safety
We are living through a period of profound disruption. Political polarization, technological change, institutional distrust, and personal upheaval have left many people questioning the foundations they once relied upon. This talk explores how humans adapt when certainty disappears and why meaning, rather than control, may be the more enduring source of stability.
Psychedelics, Meaning, and Transformation
As psychedelic therapies enter mainstream medicine, we must ask not only whether they reduce symptoms, but how they help people reconstruct meaning, purpose, and identity after profound experiences.
Mortality and Meaning
How does awareness of death change the way we live? Drawing from philosophy, psychology, and lived experience, this talk explores mortality not as a problem to solve, but as a lens through which life becomes more vivid and meaningful..