My name is Aidé Montilla.

​

WHAT I'VE BUILT

My work lives in three interconnected spaces, each serving a different purpose while sharing the same mission: helping people reconnect with themselves through stories, creativity, and meaningful experiences.

✍️ Entre un fregao y el otro

This is where I write most honestly.

Through essays, reflections, letters, and conversations, I explore motherhood, creativity, entrepreneurship, healing, identity, relationships, and the beautiful messiness of everyday life.

It isn't simply a collection of essays.

It's an invitation to pause.

To breathe.

To remember that none of us is figuring life out alone.

​

🦋 Mujeres Oruga

​

Mujeres Oruga was born from a simple belief:

Women deserve spaces where they can stop performing and simply be.

Spaces where they can reconnect with themselves, recognize their own greatness, trust their voice, and give themselves permission to fully become who they already are.

Through retreats, journaling circles, intentional gatherings, and guided experiences, Mujeres Oruga creates opportunities for women to slow down, reflect, create, heal, and build genuine community.

Because sometimes transformation isn't about becoming someone different.

Sometimes it's simply remembering yourself.

​

📚 Bonooq Press

​

Bonooq Press was founded in 2021 as an independent publishing house created to help first-time authors navigate the publishing process with confidence and humanity.

Since then, I've had the privilege of guiding writers from unfinished manuscripts to published books, offering editorial guidance, creative direction, book design coordination, publishing strategy, and mentorship throughout the entire journey.

Because publishing has never been just about books.

It's about believing your story deserves to exist.

​

MY WORK

​

Over the past decade, I've built a career at the intersection of literature, publishing, education, entrepreneurship, and human connection.

​

Author

I'm the author of:

• El chico de la barriga grande

• Un invierno sin ti

• Madres Solteras: Poemas e historias sobre el estigma de criar sin pareja

• Guided journals, planners, and reflective writing resources designed to encourage intentional living and creative self-discovery.

​

Editor & Publisher

As founder of Bonooq Press, I've edited and mentored authors across novels, poetry, memoirs, children's literature, and personal narratives.

Editorial projects include:

• Juan y Eva

• Aprendiendo de la Vida — Juan Meléndez

• El olor de la sangre: 1968, The Year of Freedom

• El olor de la sangre: Cayo Confites

• 29 Poemas o Confesiones

• El amor y la Cocina

• Las añoranzas de Cucurú

• Pescando nuestros sueños (translation)

• Numerous independent publishing projects were developed through Bonooq Press.

​

Facilitator, Speaker & Community Builder

​

I've designed and facilitated workshops on creative writing, storytelling, memoir, publishing, journaling, expressive writing, bibliotherapy, entrepreneurship, and creative healing for organizations including:

• Columbia University

• The City University of New York (CUNY)

• Mount Sinai

• Montefiore Medical Center

• NewYork-Presbyterian | Allen Pavilion

• Dominican Writers Association

• INDEX

• Dirección Dominicana de Cultura en el Exterior

• Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano

• Rising Tide Capital

• Community organizations throughout New York and the Dominican Republic

​

My work has supported writers, entrepreneurs, women, cancer patients and caregivers, emerging authors, and communities seeking to use storytelling and writing as tools for reflection, resilience, mental health, and personal transformation.

I've also served as moderator, interviewer, speaker, producer, and Master of Ceremonies for literary, nonprofit, entrepreneurial, and cultural events celebrating storytelling, creativity, and Dominican and Caribbean talent.

​

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

I believe the best educators remain lifelong students.

​

My formal education, certifications, and ongoing professional development reflect that commitment.

Currently:

• Bachelor of Arts in English with a Minor in Psychology — The City College of New York (in progress)

• Copy Editing Certificate — The City College of New York (in progress)

Professional Certifications:

• Certified Breath Coach

• Certified Mental Health First Aid

• Certified Resilience Practitioner

Specialized Training:

• Bibliotherapy

• Expressive and Reflective Writing

• Storytelling for Emotional Well-being

• Creative Facilitation and Community Building

​

Every course, certification, and experience deepens my commitment to creating spaces that are thoughtful, trauma-informed, inclusive, and profoundly human.

​

ABOVE ALL...

I'm a mother of three.

A Dominican woman.

A coffee lover.

A slow but determined runner.

A lifelong student.

A writer.

​

Someone planning a wedding while still learning how to navigate adulthood, entrepreneurship, motherhood, and purpose—entre un fregao y el otro. I don't create from a place of having life figured out.

​

I create from the belief that stories have the power to remind us who we are.

​

If my work leaves you with anything, I hope it's this: That you feel seen. That you feel understood. And that you leave believing your story matters. Because every meaningful transformation I've witnessed has started the same way: Someone finally felt safe enough to tell the truth.

​

☕ Ven, que hay café.