Callings
The Purpose and Passion of Work
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Stories of passion, courage, and commitment, following individuals as they pursue the work they were born to do, from StoryCorps founder Dave Isay
In Callings, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay presents unforgettable stories from people doing what they love. Some found their paths at a very young age, others later in life; some overcame great odds or upturned their lives in order to pursue what matters to them. Many of their stories have never been broadcast or published by StoryCorps until now.
We meet a man from the barrios of Texas whose harrowing experiences in a family of migrant farmers inspired him to become a public defender. We meet a longtime waitress who takes pride in making regulars and newcomers alike feel at home in her Nashville diner. We meet a young man on the South Side of Chicago who became a teacher in order to help at-risk teenagers like the ones who killed his father get on the right track. We meet a woman from Little Rock who helps former inmates gain the skills and confidence they need to rejoin the workforce. Together they demonstrate how work can be about much more than just making a living, that chasing dreams and finding inspiration in unexpected places can transform a vocation into a calling. Their shared sense of passion, honor, and commitment brings deeper meaning and satisfaction to every aspect of their lives.
An essential contribution to the beloved StoryCorps collection, Callings is an inspiring tribute to rewarding work and the American pursuit of happiness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
StoryCorps founder Isay culls and collects wise words and powerful stories about searching for meaning in work from the more than 65,000 stories recorded in StoryCorps booths across America over the past 12 years. Every one of the stories in this inspiring collection reveals the deep love that motivates the storytellers as they discover and embrace their vocations. For example, Eric D. Williams, a reverand, admits that "he came into this work kicking and screaming... but my heart was pulled," and he changed both the character of his ministry and his community by performing a funeral of young man who had died from AIDS when other churches refused to do so. Emergency medical technician Rowan Allen saved Brian Lindsey's life after Lindsey was critically injured in a bicycle accident; the experience so transformed Allen that he became a nurse, and he and Lindsey's family formed such a bond that Lindsey's family showed up at Allen's graduation from nursing school. Beekeeper Ted Dennard talks to his friend, Clay Culver, about the wisdom he's gained from his work and the bees: "My favorite thing about bees is that they have this give-in-order-to-receive or receive-in-order-to-give way of living." These wonderful stories reveal that work becomes meaningful to those who choose or are in some cases chosen by the calling that motivates, energizes, and inspires them.
Customer Reviews
You owe it to yourself to read this
At its core, this is a book about humanity, about the commonalities we all share.