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StoryCorps: Recording The Lives And Stories Of Everyday Americans StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by listening to their stories.
StoryCorps

StoryCorps

Sharing And Preserving The Stories Of Our Lives

From One Question, Two Families Spring

As she washed the dishes one night, Cathy Resmer asked her friend Jules Fishelman a direct, but unexpected, question: "Would you like to be our sperm donor?" For Resmer, the request stemmed from her relationship with Ann-Elise Johnson. For Fishelman, it was a day that changed his life.

From One Question, Two Families Spring

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The Christmas Tree Under the Porch

As Christmas approached in 1944, word came that Marie DeSantis' brother was missing in action in Germany. Given the bad news, her mother just couldn't see putting up a tree that year. But a Christmas Eve letter changed the family's plans once again.

The Christmas Tree Under the Porch

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My Mother's Story: Dot the Welder

The legend of "Rosie the Riveter" has inspired romantic ideas about American women doing their patriotic duty in wartime. But for Dorothy Kelley, those motives were combined with more personal concerns. Recently divorced, she was raising four children on her own.

My Mother's Story: Dot the Welder

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Dad's Admiration Makes Strong Bond with Daughter

When David Warm's second daughter, Mary, was born, he was worried about how to raise her because of her Down syndrome. But, he tells her, he realized that all she needed was love and learning, and everything would turn out all right.

Dad's Admiration Makes Strong Bond with Daughter

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A Young Boy's Stand on a New Orleans Streetcar

It was 56 years ago that Jerome Smith, then 10 years old, removed the screen that acted as a barrier between white and black passengers on a New Orleans streetcar. "The streetcar became very hostile," Smith recalls.

A Young Boy's Stand on a New Orleans Streetcar

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Bronx Family Memories for Everyone

Growing up in the Bronx, sisters Carolyn Schlam and Rebecca Katechis were swamped during family gatherings by an extended family of 16 aunts and uncles. It's a life they now remember with wonder and joy.

Bronx Family Memories for Everyone

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As Memories Slip Away, It's Still a 'Wonderful Life'

Ken Morganstern was diagnosed with early-stage Alzeheimer's disease five years ago. Since then, his memory has gotten worse -- and he has lost some of the stories of his own life. But he hasn't lost the idea of who he is.

As Memories Slip Away, It's Still a 'Wonderful Life'

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Opinion

A Vietnam Veteran's Long Journey

When Tom Geerdes came home from Vietnam, he was different. As he told his daughter Hannah Campbell recently, it wasn't until 10 years after his return that a chance event allowed him to heal.

A Vietnam Veteran's Long Journey

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Overcoming Dyslexia, and Turning a Corner in Life

"A parrot flies along, the parrot lands on a car, the car explodes, and the smoke and feathers rise in a figure 8." To many people, that may sound like a cartoon panel. To Sean Plasse, it was a tool for recalling the word "polycarbonate." Plasse was crippled by dyslexia -- until he found new ways to cope.

Overcoming Dyslexia, and Turning a Corner in Life

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Halloween Tricks And Audio Treats

In New York, 'Horror Stories' and Halloween

When Juliet Jegasothy immigrated from Sri Lanka, she had already heard about life in America. "I was so terrified to even open the door," she says, "because I had heard all these horror stories about crooks, and gangsters, and guns, in New York." But when Halloween came, Jegasothy had to learn the hard way.

In New York, 'Horror Stories' and Halloween

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Hard-Won Wisdom, and a Helping Hand

Edwin Lanier has been sober for more than 5 years. But it took a threat, and a helping hand, for him to change. As Lanier told his friend David Wright recently, he drank for many years -- and he nearly drank himself to death. Wright eventually took Lanier in, gave him a shower and clean clothes, and a place to start over.

Hard-Won Wisdom, and a Helping Hand

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A Father's Promise Fulfilled

When Walt Shaffner became an assistant principal, his father gave him a tiny megaphone and a toy baseball bat -- and a promise to give him the real thing when he was promoted to principal. The promise was eventually kept -- but it was years before Shaffner realized how it had happened.

A Father's Promise Fulfilled

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'Like Being 19': A Lifetime Spent Together

Sandi Cote-Whitacre and Bobbi Cote-Whitacre have been together for nearly 40 years. The two met when they were very young. As Bobbi asked her partner recently, "Do you remember what it was like when we were 19 and totally in love -- and couldn't tell anyone?"

'Like Being 19': A Lifetime Spent Together

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Opinion

A Father, a Son, and a 10-Cent Mistake

To say that Samuel Black's father worked would be like saying that Bill Gates made money. But he found time to teach his son lessons. "He was a very stern disciplinarian," Samuel Black says -- often, all his father had to do was look at his sons, and his meaning was clear.

A Father, a Son, and a 10-Cent Mistake

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The Sweetest Girl Takes on the World

Hasiyna Price and Danette Banks are friends, neighbors and cousins. They've been close ever since they can remember. In a visit to the StoryCorps booth in New York, the pair talked about how Price copes with scoliosis -- curvature of the spine -- especially when it comes to dealing with boys.

The Sweetest Girl Takes on the World

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