I’m a huge fan of The Moth, a nonprofit storytelling website (I think storytelling is the greatest form of communication ever). The site is a catalog of stories from people famous and not-so-much. Writers, comedians and musicians like Malcolm Gladwell, Moby & Lewis Black turn up for unscripted storytelling (that’s the rule) and it’s all captured on audio & published as podcasts. One of those storytellers is Ed Gavagan, a furniture maker and gang violence survivor whose personal story of victimization, and the climb back out is poignant and funny at once. He’s been featured on The Moth twice now, and both podcasts are worth listening to, if only to gain some perspective on the complexities of recovery and the realities of our patients’ lives after they leave our care.
The first podcast can be found here. It’s the top of the page currently, entitled, Drowning on Sullivan Street.
The second can be heard here–the link will take you to the MP3, so there should be no difficulty finding it.
Each is under 17 minutes and worth every minute.