Stefan Lynch was raised by gay parents in the early eighties. He was cared for and loved by a group of adults, largely gay men, who he called his “aunties.” Stefan remembers the succession of AIDS-related illnesses in his family, including the death of his father in ‘91. Even in the face of terrible sickness and loss, his aunties showed him how to survive and care for one another.

Six-year-old Jerry Morrison is obsessed with outer space — so of course, his favorite person to talk to is his uncle Joey Jefferson, a Mission Operations Engineer at NASA. They talk all about favorite planets, how much more there is to learn, and Joey’s hopes for Jerry’s future.

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.

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]

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 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]

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.

When Sharon Adams moved back to her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the late 1990s, she needed help with fixing her house. Initially there to do electrical work, Larry Adams found himself enamored by Sharon. The two fell in love and embarked on a new undertaking: revitalizing their neighborhood one lot at a time.

Bryan Wilmoth is the oldest of eight children who grew up in a very strict household. Eventually, all the siblings became estranged from their parents. At StoryCorps, Bryan told his brother mike about the day their father discovered that Bryan was gay.

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]