Dave Isay

Jackie Miller adopted her son, Scott, in the early 1970s. In 2008, Scott brought his mom to StoryCorps to ask her about that decision.

Stefan Lynch remembers the community of gay men who helped raise him (lovingly nicknamed his “aunties”), the dark days of the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, and the lessons that he learned from this powerful family.

The first-ever animated feature from StoryCorps, Listening Is an Act of Love, presents six stories from 10 years of StoryCorps, where everyday people sit down together to ask life’s important questions and share stories from their lives. Framing these intimate conversations is an interview between StoryCorps founder Dave Isay and his nine-year-old nephew, Benji.

In 1964, Lynn was one of 14 black students who integrated West High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. During this difficult time in his life, there was one man who always made him feel safe and supported—his father, Ted Weaver—who worked as a janitor and chauffeur. At StoryCorps, Lynn talked to his daughter, Kimberly, about a lesson he learned from his father that extended beyond the classroom. [Overview Courtesy of StoryCorps]

John Washington was born blind and with a severe loss of hearing that has become more extreme over time. He raised three children with his wife Fannie Ruth, who was also blind and deaf.

Panchita Espitia was a formidable woman, not afraid of rattlesnakes underfoot on the Texas ranches of her youth, or of death itself. Her grandson, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez, learned this near the end of her life, when he realized some spiritual lessons can only be passed down by our elders. Bishop Ramirez came to StoryCorps to remember his abuelita. [Overview courtesy of Storycorps]

In 1930s Brooklyn, Van Harris met his wife-to-be, Shirley — blooming into a 75-year romance. For nearly 40 years, they performed comedy together in Borscht Belt resorts in New York State. Beyond the stage, there was another place they loved to spend their time — Dubrow’s Cafeteria. [Overview courtesy of StoryCorps]

Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden was born into enslavement in Black Mountain, North Carolina. She was 7 years old when she was freed. She stayed in Black Mountain and became a midwife, delivering several hundred babies including her own grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Mary Othella Burnette, came to StoryCorps with her daughter, Debora Hamilton Palmer, to honor the family matriarch. [Overview Courtesy of Storycorps]

In 1998, a violent conflict forced Najat Hamza to flee her home in Oromia, a regional state in Ethiopia. She recalls the night she said goodbye to her mother before she, her father, and two siblings left for Kenya. Najat eventually settled down in Minnesota, but she still longs for a place she left behind. [Overview courtesy of StoryCorps]

Some sweet love stories start with chocolates and roses — but this one starts with a pet snake. Bud Jones started his taxidermy business when he was a teenager in Tallapoosa, Georgia. When Jackie and Bud went on their first date in 1954, she quickly discovered that she was in for a wild ride for love. At @StoryCorps, they shared the story of how the early adventures in their romance led to a lifelong partnership.

The difficulties faced by same-sex couples have created far too many stories of unrequited love. Glenda Elliott's story is one of them: Glenda came to StoryCorps to remember Lauree, the woman she fell in love with in small-town Georgia, at a time when it was difficult to imagine an acceptable path apart from marrying a man and starting a family. Though she and Lauree planned for a late-in-life reunion, fate interfered. In "A Certain Kind of Love," Glenda remembers the power of their bond.