Episode 81 - Xelena González

This conversation was recorded on October 8th, 2025. I met Xelena through my wife, Rupa. It was such a delight getting to know her and learn more about her perspective and creativity! I am so grateful she was able to share with us! Xelena González practices the healing arts through writing and movement.  She is a storyteller, dancer, and visiting author who centers self-love in her multi-disciplinary workshops for all ages. Her debut picture book ALL AROUND US garnered multiple accolades, including the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award and an American Indian Youth Literature Honor Award. Her followup WHERE WONDER GROWS was featured on NPR and earned several awards, including the Pura Belpre Illustrator Award. Xelena’s third collaboration with her dear friend Adriana M. Garcia is a touching tribute to the longtime pets they lost. REMEMBERING has been featured in the New York Times and was named to several “Best of 2024” lists including those by Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and the Chicago Public Library. All three books were named ALSC Notables and received the Texas Institute of Letters award for “Best Picture Book.” Xelena’s storytelling skills were honed as a public librarian in her hometown of Yanaguana/San Antonio and in Guangzhou, China, where she served as head librarian for an international school. Through her author visits, she has introduced a method of “tai chi storytelling” to more than 100 schools, museums, and libraries around the globe. Her writing for adults includes poetry, essays, fiction, and screenwriting. LOTERIA REMEDIOS is her forthcoming oracle deck (Hay House, 2024) featuring icons from her Mestiza culture as expressed in the Lotería card game. This collection of soulful writings offers reflections, divinations, plant and animal medicine, and other tools for self-healing. A member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, Xelena has become a sought-after speaker on topics such as radical self love, creative early literacy strategies, inhabiting story through music and movement, and reclaiming indigenous identity in Latinx communities. She has received support from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the Luminaria Artist Foundation, the Macondo Writers Workshop, We Need Diverse Books, the Highlights Foundation, and most importantly, her readers. Xelena’s work is informed by her studies in journalism (BSJ, Northwestern University, 2001) and library science (MLS, Texas Woman’s University, 2011). Over the years she has freelanced for numerous publications, taught belly dancing and swimming, performed as a voice and stage actress, led incarcerated teens and teen parents in creating their own picture books, and raised an amazingly strong daughter along the way.https://www.xelena.space/about