As the Year Turns and Always, It Is Stories That Move Us and Lead Us to Action

My last few year-end columns have focused on the stories of those Atlantic is privileged to work with around the world because, as always, that is where the emphasis must be. It is why we do this work and what keeps us going.

This year, I thought I would give you the opportunity to hear some stories directly, in the voices of women, men and children whose lives and experiences are testimony to the values that animate our commitment to improving the lives of children and families, protecting human rights, and strengthening connections between the generations.

Atlantic is proud to support StoryCorps, based on the simple but profound idea that the most compelling stories emerge from the lives of ordinary people. Anyone can walk into a StoryCorps booth or mobile van, bring StoryCorps facilitators to their library or community center, or use a home kit, and record a conversation with a loved one that results in professional-quality recording that can be handed down the generations and stored in a growing archive in the Library of Congress. Each week, a StoryCorps interview airs on National Public Radio.

I want to share with you here, as a holiday season treat, five StoryCorps recordings:

	Debbie Watterson talks with her son Mitchel about what it means to him to care for his deaf younger sister Bridget
	Jeffrey Perri interviews his grandfather, Tony, about how he came to terms with being gay
	Joe Buford reflects with his tutor, Michelle Miller, about his quest to become literate
	Hector Black tells the story of how he forgave the man who murdered his daughter
	Patricia Blanca Alvarez tells her daughter, Connie, about crossing the border from Mexico to the United States

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From all of us here at Atlantic, our best wishes for the holiday season and our deepest wish for good stories in our lives in 2010 and the decade to come.

Gara LaMarche