When Claire Jeffers and her husband Ben Lake found out that their infant son was deaf, she questioned her ability to be the kind of mother she thought he might need. Three years later, he is thriving and so are his parents. Claire tells their story in this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast.

Being a volunteer for Vet2Vet Maine is a win-win situation. That is what every single person I've ever asked about the program has said. In this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast I put the question to volunteer Sam Kelley. He couldn't say enough. Neither could his wife Jean or Executive Director Sue Gold, who helped found the program in 2014.

When physical therapy clients couldn't come to him because of Covid fears, Maine physical therapist Phil Finemore created a mobile practice. He tells us all about it in this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast.

The day after Labor Day, 2022, Jodie Lapchick rented a car and drove from Maine to Hilton Head, South Carolina to "rescue" her elderly parents. Over recent years, their mental and physical health had declined, and although Jodie and her two siblings did not live nearby, they tried to help manage things as best they could. Jodie says her dad had a plan for everything but not what to do when he and her mother could no longer care for themselves or each other. They relied on a team of home care providers for much of their day-to-day needs, which worked fine for a while. Things came to a head when it became clear they needed a higher level of care and the three siblings scrambled to figure out the best next step. That's when Jodie decided to bring her parents to Maine. Once they arrived, though, their problems didn't go away. In fact, it's been one challenge after another and as is too often the case for caregivers, it began to put Jodie's own health at risk. This is Jodie's story.

It starts with having a clear vision and then engaging 110% in living that vision. That is how Luanne Cameron approaches every aspect of her life. She even wrote a book about it - The 110 Philosophy. Luanne is my guest on this month's episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast.

When Gary Chalk retired, he informed some of his friends in an email. What he wrote made them laugh. So he wrote another the following week. The next thing he knew, he was writing a regular humor column and making lots of people laugh. Gary Chalk is my latest guest on the Catching Your Memories podcast.

Claire Hersom considers herself blessed. She has wonderful children and grandchildren, a safe place to live, and although now retired, does good honest work. That work includes trying to break the stereotype of the poor by speaking the truth about what it means to live in abject poverty. When her three children were young, Claire suddenly became a single parent. Her own parents had passed away. Her father when she was 17 and her mother just the year before. Six months after becoming a single parent, she also lost the family home. She was determined to give her children a "normal" life, but it was a constant struggle. In the 70s, a time when resentment against poor people was on the rise, she had to go on welfare. Even when she was working and off welfare she struggled to make ends meet. In this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast, Claire talks about some of the ways she managed the challenges she faced and the many lessons and truths about poverty, grief, and forgiveness that she learned along the way.

It took several years for Christina Erde to understand and come to terms with her diagnosis of mental illness. Her struggle began as a child when she experienced sometimes crippling anxiety. Her transition into adulthood triggered severe depression and she began seeing a therapist and taking medication. About four years ago, a crisis landed her in the hospital, where she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. For a while, things went from bad to worse and she was hospitalized again after attempting to take her own life. With the help of professionals and her family, slowly but surely, things began to turn around. Christina came to accept her diagnosis and become more engaged in her recovery process. She realized that her life had meaning and that she was going to be ok. She now shares her story to help others who may struggle as she once did. Christina Erde is today's guest on the Catching Your Memories podcast.

Roland T. describes his childhood as chaotic. The biggest struggle he faced was his father's alcoholism. When he drank he would get angry and Roland never knew what to expect. As a result, he was often fearful and anxious. You might think that he would steer clear of alcohol, but as a teenager, Roland discovered it was a way to escape reality. That is until reality caught up with him several years later. Now in recovery, he shares his story so that others may learn from his experiences and begin their own recovery journeys.

Karyn Wing grew up in a home where physical, sexual, and verbal were the norm. She also grew up believing that it was all her fault. That if she were a good girl none of it would have happened. As an adult, she blocked out much of her childhood, but the scars were there, deeply embedded, along with the feeling that she was never good enough. It took several decades and a lot of hard work for Karyn to learn the difference between abusive and healthy relationships. She also learned that before anything else, she had to learn to love herself. Most days she does. Karyn shares some of her story in the hopes that it will help someone else who feels like she used to feel. Written transcript: https://bit.ly/3bOlKhk

In this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast, 23-year-old Marena Koenka shares a story about her mental health struggles. Her experiences are her own and may not be like yours or someone else's, but she has learned that there is great value in sharing them. Doing so helps to connect people, as well as normalize and destigmatize mental illness. A warning: Some people may be triggered by some of Marena's experiences, particularly when she talks about self-harming and suicidal ideation. If you would prefer to skip over those sections, here are some timecodes: Self-harming 12:35 to 13:32. Suicidal ideation 41:37 to 45:11. If you prefer to read rather than listen you will find a written transcript at https://bit.ly/3cPOQgr.